top
Santa Cruz IMC
Santa Cruz IMC
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

Treatment Plant Discharges 4.4 Million Gallons of Untreated Wastewater Into Monterey Bay

by Dan Bacher
Approximately 4.4 million gallons of untreated wastewater have been discharged into the blue waters of Monterey Bay through an ocean outfall discharge pipe 2.5 miles off shore, the result of an “equipment control failure” at the Monterey One Water Regional Treatment Plant in Marina, California, on January 19 and 20. 
slide0.jpg
How is that “iconic network of jewels of the sea” created under the “most open, transparent and inclusive process” in California history, the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative, working out?

Not very well, it appears, if you consider a recent untreated wastewater spill that is likely to foul these so-called “marine protected areas” off the Monterey County coast, just like the Refugio Oil Spill fouled Santa Barbara County beaches and “marine protected areas" created under the helm of the Western States Petroleum President on May 20, 2015.

Approximately 4.4 million gallons of untreated wastewater have been discharged into the blue waters of Monterey Bay through an ocean outfall discharge pipe 2.5 miles off shore, the result of an “equipment control failure” at the Monterey One Water Regional Treatment Plant in Marina, California, on January 19 and 20. 

As of January 22, Carmel Beach at Ocean Avenue, Monterey Municipal Beach, Lovers Point, the Beach at Monterey State Beach, San Carlos Beach, the beach at Sunset Drive at Asilomar, the beach at Spanish Bay and Stillwater Cove are closed.

These beaches will remain closed until samples indicate that the water is again safe for contact according to state guidelines.  “All other beaches are open without restriction,” according to the Monterey County Health Department.  

The department warns that contact with contaminated water may cause gastroenteritis and other water borne illnesses.  

The department also warned: “If Monterey County experiences rainy weather, a RAIN ADVISORY will be put in effect for all Monterey County Beaches advising the public not to have ocean water contact for three days after the last rain event, (even if lab results from this recent spill come back negative for contaminants).”

This event occurred late Friday evening, January 19, and into the early morning hours of Saturday, January 20.

“Because of this release, Monterey County Health Department immediately issued beach closures from Moss Landing to Stillwater Cove. The Health Department is advising the public not to have any ocean contact at this time,” according to Paul Sciuto, General Manager for Monterey One Water, in a press release.

Sciuto said five water samples from local beaches and eleven samples from the receiving surface water (RSW) surrounding the outfall pipe were obtained on Saturday. Sampling from the same local beach locations plus two more sites also occurred on Sunday.

“All eleven of the open ocean results from the Saturday sampling event were below the Ocean Plan limits for Total Coliform, E. coli and Enterococcus. For the five local beach samples taken on Saturday, only one sample (Monterey Wharf #2) had an elevated Enterococcus measurement of 108 MPN/100mL. The single sample limit for Enterococcus is 104 MPN/100mL,” Sciuto said.

“Sampling results for the seven local beach locations will be made available on Monday afternoon. The Agency is continuing to investigate the cause of this event and will post new information including additional sampling results on the Agency's website as soon as it becomes available,” he concluded.

Monterey Bay is unique in having one of the most diverse marine ecosystems on the planet, since cold water species like Chinook salmon, rockfish and lingcod thrive in its waters, as well as warmer water species such as white seabass, bonito and barracuda, particularly during El Nino events. It also features one of the largest arrays of surfperch in its waters, including barred, silver, walleye, pile, rubberlipped, black, rainbow, striped and walleye perch.

"I find it interesting that you have to dig a little in all the reports that the spill was in Marina, not Monterey actually," Frank Emerson, local angler and conservationist, commented. "It seems a little downplayed to me that it is severe pollution of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and that 'Protected' status under the MLPA designation does not really protect against actual threats to the habitat. It only regulates unfairly against the fishing public."

Information on beach closures can be found at http://www.mtyhd.org/beach or call 1- 800-347-6363.
Add Your Comments
Listed below are the latest comments about this post.
These comments are submitted anonymously by website visitors.
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network