Briefly in the news

Before city officials can protect residents from the goop in the

gutters they need to find out exactly what it is.

Just what is contained in the storm water and urban runoff flowing

down city streets, storm drains and rain gutters is just one of the goals

of a new citywide water quality management plan, approved by City Council

last week.

The plan is to identify pollutants in dry weather urban runoff, which

comes from things like washing cars and watering lawns, through an

intensive monitoring program that will use high-tech devices such as

Global Positioning Systems and Geographic Information Systems to help

pinpoint, within a few centimeters, the locations of storm drains and

catch basins, said city engineer Dave Webb.

Controlled and funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, the Global

Positioning System is a satellites navigation device that provides

three-dimensional pictures of the earth.

The Geographic Information System is a computer system capable of

assembling, storing, manipulating and displaying data according to its

location. Using the Geographic Information System, city officials can

“point” at a location, object, or area on the screen and find out

specific details about that area.

Huntington Beach uses both systems already, but this will be the first

time the two will be used to monitor storm drains. It will also be the

first time the city will conduct its own water quality sampling, which

has always been done by the Orange County Health Care Agency.

Aerial photographs of Huntington, taken by an outside company hired by

the city, will allow city staff to locate a storm drain system, to see

where it flows, and to better track water coming into and out of

Huntington Beach, Webb said.The project is funded by grants totaling more

than $660,000, which will be used to take aerial pictures, to help map

storm drains, conduct water quality sampling, pay consultant Camp,

Dresser & McKee, Inc., and set up the Global Positioning and Global

Information systems.

The funds are part of the the $4-million Water Quality Grant Fund the

city received from Proposition 13 in March 2000.

Proposition 13 supports safe drinking water quality, flood protection,

and water reliability projects throughout the state.

“If a spill occurs, we can see where it first entered a catch basin to

hopefully catch these things before going into a lake or ocean,” Webb

said. “[The Global Information System] digitally records everything and

gets it on paper. It tells us, ‘Here’s where the storm drains are at.”’

The plan is meant to give staff and citizens direction on the best

ways to safeguard the city’s water supply.

“A lot of people might not realize when you wash off a car and or

around a house, that stuff ends up in a lake, river or ocean,” Webb said.

A focus group made up of Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce members,

City Council members, residents, city staff and the recently hired

consultant, is currently forming with a goal to gain input from a variety

of sources to ensure the city’s plans are accepted and implemented.

“Obviously the city has to come up with what it wants, so a focus

group can better direct that plan,” Webb said.