Water Quality TestingDemands Attention

ach day hundreds o citizens andtourists step onto the beaches o SanDiego with the intent o surng,swimming or engaging in other water-related activities. Tey shouldn’t have to worry about developing sicknesses as aresult o enjoying San Diego beaches andbays. Weekly watershed testing providesbeach-goers with a sense o security ortheir health by inorming them o possiblebacterial contaminations.In September 2008, ollowing the ten-year anniversary o Caliornia’s watershed monitoring program, GovernorArnold Schwarzenegger terminated theunding or weekly bacterial concentrationtesting in Caliornia coastal communities,completely eliminating San Diego’sbudget o $302,000. Aer weeks o public disapproval and pressure romenvironmental groups, in November 2008,the State Water Resources Control Board voted 4-0 to restore unding or bacterialconcentration testing, granting the statetwo million dollars or watershed testing over the next two years.Te Governor has shown that heis willing to eliminate unding or weeklybacterial concentration testing. Tere isno guarantee that he will not make thesame decision twice. Te two milliondollar budget is only a temporary solutionor the ongoing problem o high bacterialconcentrations. A permanent budget mustbe established.Pollutants such as oil, gasoline,cleaning products, plant ertilizers,and septic waste are oen washed outo residential areas due to rainall andoutdoor irrigation. Tese pollutants enterstorm drains and pour into the dierentbeaches and bays, raising the bacteriallevels along the coast. Te contaminated water serves as a breeding ground orbacteria that can cause serious sicknesses.

by Chandler Hood

otal coliorms, E. coli andenterococci are indicator bacteria usedto identiy the presence o pathogensand microorganisms that cause sicknessessuch as dysentery, hepatitis, cholera,and typhoid ever. Te EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) has establishedbacterial concentration standards thatare used to determine i a water sampleis deemed “clean” enough. I 0.2 inchesor more rainall is measured, or i thebacterial concentrations o a watersample do not meet EPA standards, beachadvisories are initiated, warning beach-goers to not swim within y yards o the contaminated area. During instanceso septic waste exposure, beach closuresare posted and remain until urther testsconclude that bacteria concentrationshave decreased to sae levels.Te 2008 Heal the Bay BeachReport Card stated, “San Diegoexperienced 39 beach closures due tosewage spills between April 2007 andMarch 2008.” Many individuals avoidedthe likely risk o developing seriousillnesses due to bacterial concentrationtests unded by the state o Caliornia.Although bacterial concentrationtests ultimately benet the health o beach-goers, as o September 2008, thestate budget or these tests had existed oronly a decade.Local resident and surboardshaper, Hank Warner, has been surng the beaches o San Diego or the past 48 years and recalls a time when the state-mandated tests did not exist. Beore the1980s, Hank and several o his riends would oen enter the water bearing illnesses and open wounds because thecleansing properties o salt water wouldhelp cure their ailments.“Some time aer the 1970’s [or]

A sign posted at PB Point warns beach goers of the illness-associated risks of swimming near areas where storm drain water is released. High bacterial concentrations can cause sicknesses such as dysentery, hepatitis, cholera, and typhoid fever. Photo courtesy of David Ceballos.

The Current Bacteria Concentration Testing Budget is Only a Temporary Solution

1980’s, that stopped happening,” Warnerexplained, “We started getting sick insteado getting healed and our sores startedestering instead o getting cleaned out.”In 1997, Caliornia made one o its rst major steps towards preserving thehealth o beach-goers by passing AssemblyBill 411, requiring coastal communitiesrom San Diego County to HumboldtCounty to conduct weekly water tests that would measure concentrations o dierentbacteria on a budget o $984,000.Te rst tests were conducted in1999, establishing a higher level o concernor public health. Te data collected ateach site became the basis or all beachadvisories and closures.A budget o nearly one milliondollars may seem like a lot o money tomost people, but when the cost is dividedamongst the over 36 million Caliorniacitizens, each individual is paying lessthan three cents a year. Te picturesquecoastline is a cornerstone o San Diego’stourism industry and the city’s thirdlargest source o revenue, generating $7.9billion in 2007 rom visitor expenses. I tourists develop illnesses as a result o occupying the waters o San Diego, it islikely that they will not return, so it is orthe city’s best interest to promote bacterialconcentration testing.In response to the September2008 termination o San Diego’s bacterialconcentration testing budget, juniorsattending High ech High Media Artsin the Davidson-Scherer team decidedto perorm their own tests during themonth o November, in order to providebacterial concentration measurements orthat month. On eight separate dates, thestudents collected water samples rom sixdierent locations throughout San Diegoand measured the total coliorms, E. coli,and enterococci bacterial concentrationso each sample.Te student’s ound that theenterococci concentrations at Crystal Pier,De Anza Cove and the Ocean Beach RiverMouth violated EPA standards or “clean” water on November 13th (see graph);however these high concentrations werenot the result o rainall, they were causedby an unknown source.How were beach-goers expectedto know o health-threatening bacterialconcentrations i rainall or tests couldnot serve as an alert system? Te cityshould provide beach goers with theinormation needed to make their owneducated decisions beore entering the water; otherwise they jeopardize theirhealth.Once the current budget orbacterial concentration testing expires, sotoo will the beach-goers’ trust in the SanDiego water quality. A permanent budget would ensure that beach goers wouldalways be inormed o possible bacteriarelated health risks.Te bacterial concentrationbudget serves as a refection o how theCaliornia citizens value their health. Are you willing to pay three cents a year toknow what’s in the water?

Enterococci concentrations at Crystal Pier, De Anza Cove and the Ocean Beach River Mouth on 11/13 violated EPA bacterial concentration standards. Although rainfall explains the high concentration on 11/4 at De Anza Cove, no rainfall or septic spills were reported between11/5 and 11/13, so the source of the high bacterial concentrations is unknown.