Report on water quality contains good, bad news

As with most studies related to our ocean’s and our harbor’s safety

and cleanliness, a report last week covering 2004 contained good and

bad news.

First the bad news from Testing the Waters, which was compiled by

the Natural Resources Defense Council: There were 939 beach

advisories or closures last year in Orange County and, closer to

home, the water in the harbor at 33rd Street and near the

intersection of Newport Boulevard and West Coast Highway was

persistently unhealthy. Both of those spots have been a problem since

the late 1990s.

By now, it is no great surprise that parts of the harbor are

absolutely no-swim zones. It is disappointing, though, that the

problem persists, and it’s a testament to just how pervasive and

lasting pollution can be. It should also be a renewed warning that we

must ensure that the rest of the harbor never reaches such levels. It

will be far easier to keep our harbor clean than to clean it up.

But the report was not just bad news. On the good-news side, the

number of closures was a drop of 26% from 2003. In fact, there’s been

steadily fewer closures and postings since 2001, which suggests that

when city and county leaders, business owners and the rest of us

focus on cleaning up our water, we can get it done.

By now, we all know what we need to do and what causes pollution

problems. Don’t over-water lawns or clean cars and then allow the

water to flow into storm drains. Install catch systems at your

business, including grease traps at restaurants. Runoff seemingly far

from any water will make it into our harbor and our oceans, so don’t

let your guard down just because you aren’t overlooking the harbor or

the beach.

These common-sense actions can have great effects on our

environment, as our improving -- though not yet where it should be --

water quality proves.