Sacramento Report: Local Beaches Get Extension to Clean Up Water

San Diego’s 20-year battle of the beaches reached a standdown — for now at least.

On Wednesday the Regional Water Quality Control Board granted a four-year reprieve to cities that aren’t meeting water quality standards for dry weather. 

It approved an order that forestalls penalties for excessive bacteria levels at local creeks and beaches until 2028. A dozen cities including San Diego signed onto the plan, saying it provides extra time needed to finally clean up pollution. 

Environmentalists opposed the order, arguing it amounts to a Get Out of Jail Free card for cities that aren’t making the changes needed to ensure San Diego’s waterways are safe for public use.

“The whole point of it is to delay application of the deadline that’s currently in place,” said Livia Beaudin, an attorney with Coast Law Group, who represented San Diego Coastkeeper on the issue.

What does this mean to swimmers, surfers or creek users?

“As a practical matter it just means we’re not going to see any improvement,” Beaudin said. “So when you see a sign that says beach closure, or an advisory to stay out of the water, that’s not going to change.”

The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board is one of nine state boards that regulate surface water in California. It covers coastal San Diego County and parts of southern Orange County, and has been grappling with this issue for two decades. 

In 2004, the board adopted standards called total maximum daily loads to restrict levels of bacteria permitted in coastal and inland water. The plan was to meet those targets by April, 2021. Nearly three years later, most local creeks and beaches aren’t there yet.

Mireille Lecourtois, an engineer for the board’s stormwater management unit, told the board that about three quarters of water bodies covered by the order don’t meet bacteria limits for dry weather conditions. There has been progress, though.

“Many beaches are very close to achieving compliance,” she said.

Most San Diego beaches received A’s and B’s for summer dry weather on Heal the Bay’s annual “Beach Report Card,” which grades water quality for California beaches. But only about three-quarters of them got good grades for winter dry conditions. In wet weather, when pollution sluices out to sea in stormwater, only two-thirds of San Diego beaches fared well.

Justin Gamble is a manager for San Diego County’s Watershed Protection Program. He said the county has invested in replacing aging infrastructure, trash capture, bacterial source tracking and educating the public about avoiding sewage leaks that can contaminate water sources.

The new order grants extra time to agencies that aren’t meeting the standard, and also requires more monitoring and abatement of pollution sources, said Laurie Walsh, an engineer for the water board.

Beaudin said stormwater pollution stems from a broader neglect of infrastructure that was strikingly evident in the January floods that displaced more than 1,000 San Diegans. Until local governments invest in stormwater upgrades, those problems will persist, she warned.

Meanwhile, environmental groups aren’t ready to accept a ceasefire on water quality. They could challenge the water board order granting cities extra time to comply. Beaudin said they may appeal the decision to the state, or file a civil lawsuit under the federal Clean Water Act.

Highway to Home

San Diego and National City are part of a new state program designed to reconnect communities divided by highway construction. 

Through the pilot program neighborhoods split by Interstate 805 will be reunited with public spaces including bike lanes and parks.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement that the program aims to “repair the shameful history of redlining and other exclusionary policies of the past,” through efforts to “reconnect neighborhoods and support more vibrant spaces for Californians.” 

A local organization called San Diego Commons proposed a similar plan to build bridge decks, or freeway lids, above Interstate 5, to revitalize the neighborhoods of Sherman Heights, East Village, Balboa Park, Bankers Hill and Cortez Hill. Those structures could include housing, parks or playgrounds, organizers said. 

San Diego already has one of the first such freeway lids in California, the 5.4 acre Teralta Neighborhood Park in City Heights. Spanning Interstate 15, it features gazebos, picnic tables, a basketball court and a playground.

Mountain Lion on Collision Course with Suburbia

A mountain lion that wandered through the Oceanside Civic Center last week provoked curiosity — and then sorrow. A lion that may have been the same one was killed by a car days later.

Mountain lions are classified as a specially protected mammal in California, and were proposed for listing under the California Endangered Species Act in 2019.

One recent study found that mountain lion numbers are lower than previously thought, with an estimated 3,200 to 4,500 in the state. That’s not surprising given that the wide-ranging cats face perils from car strikes to habitat fragmentation and lack of genetic diversity. 

Mountain lions have the power to capture serious public attention and bring awareness to species decline. A mountain lion named P22 that lived in Griffith Park in Los Angeles was a virtual celebrity after surviving for years, marooned in an urban environment beneath the Hollywood sign. P22 died in 2022.

Two Republicans Now Vying for Assembly District 75

Republican Assembly candidate Andrew Hayes has pulled ahead in a race for second in the 75th Assembly District. If Hayes can keep his hold on second place, he’ll make it to the November general election for a red-on-red race with fellow Republican Carl DeMaio.

Last week it looked like DeMaio would face a Democratic opponent, Kevin Juza, after DeMaio boosted Juza’s campaign through advertisements aimed at knocking Hayes out of the running.

But additional mail-in returns have flipped that, allowing Hayes to inch into second place, a half point ahead of Juza, as of March 14. The results won’t be finalized until April 4, and the winners could change again by then.

With returns trickling in, DeMaio, Assemblyman Bill Essayli, R-Corona, and former U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell called for California Secretary of State Shirley Weber to speed up the vote count.

The Sacramento Report runs every Friday and is part of a partnership with CalMatters. Do you have tips, ideas or questions? Send them to me at deborah@voiceofsandiego.org.