Coronado Common Sense

County's Department of Environmental Health Checks Beaches For Bacteria

 

 

Funding Restored For Beach Water Monitoring

 

Environmental Health technician Danny Collins collects a sample of water from a local beach.

 

Starting next fiscal year, the County will once again receive funding from the state to monitor water quality in local bays and beaches.

 

Governor Jerry Brown signed a new bill to restore funding for the beach monitoring program along the California coast. Funding for the program was cut two years ago due to the state budget crisis.

 

“This is great news for all San Diegans who love to swim, surf and play at our beaches and bays,” said Supervisor Greg Cox, who represents several coastal cities in the region.

 

“With this action, we will have a sustainable source of funding for a program that protects public health and maintains our beach-going way of life,” added Cox, who led a regional effort involving coastal cities and environmental groups to secure temporary funding from various sources. The Board of Supervisors added $128,000 to the County’s fiscal year 2011-12 budget to keep the program going.

 

Sponsored by state Sen. Christine Kehoe, Senate Bill 482 transfers the responsibility for funding the program from the State Department of Public Health to the State Water Resources Control Board and sets aside $1.8 million for the beach monitoring program.

 

The County Department of Environmental Health (DEH) has requested more than $300,000 for its Beach and Bay Water Quality Monitoring Program. DEH uses the funds to perform water quality sampling and act as a clearing house for beach water quality in local beaches and bays.

 

“The program coordinates the sampling and posting of signs warning of contaminated water at beaches. These beaches can be affected by sewage spills, when monitoring indicates bacteria levels exceed State standards, or during other events that may pose a threat to public health,” said Mark McPherson, Chief of DEH’s Land and Water Quality Division.

 

“Polluted runoff and untreated sewage may contain pathogenic bacteria, viruses or protozoa. Swimming, surfing or other exposure to contaminated waters increases the risk of illness from pathogens found in contaminated water.”

 

From April 1 through October 31—typical beach season—DEH collects and analyzes 85 samples every week from beaches and bays along the San Diego County coastline. DEH issues alerts and advisories to warn the public about water quality when bacteria levels exceed mandated standards due to rain, sewage spills or urban runoff.

 

For the latest beach water quality information, call (619)338-2073 or visit sdbeachinfo.com.

 

Source: County of San Diego

How You Can Conserve Water Resources

 

Source: eLocal.com

Submitted by Councilwoman Barbara Denny

Save A Trip To The Dump And Make Some $$$

 

This week was "Big Trash" week. How does that translate? You collect all the BIG items that don't fit in your EDCO trash bin and leave them in your alley on your trash collection day. And they will magically disappear.

 

Hope you didn't wheel that old (but still working) refrigerator to the alley. SDGE will come pick up it up and recycle it. And they will pay you $50 per refrigerator, up to a total of two.

 

Just call SDGE's contracted recycler—Appliance Recycling Centers of America (ARCA) at 1.800.599.5792—to see if your appliance qualifies for a rebate. Or you can go online at SDGE Recycling. Either way, you just got paid for that refrigerator you didn't want to drive to the dump!

Water Harvesting Talk Tonight At SDSU Aztec Center

 

Water resources in the San Diego area are dwindling day  by day. If you would like to learn how to survive in these conditions, you may be interested in the Water Harvesting talk taking place this evening at the Aztec Center at San Diego State University.

Brad Lancaster is an expert in the field of rainwater harvesting and water management. He is also an experienced teacher, designer, consultant and co-founder of the Desert Harvesters non-profit organization.

This event is hosted by Engineers Without Borders – San Diego State University Chapter. This event is FREE to the public.

Brad Lancaster: Water Harvesting

Wednesday, February 9^th from 5:30 to 8PM

 

Casa Real (Aztec Center) at San Diego State University

5500 Campanile Drive

San Diego, CA

MAP

Concerned About Scarity Of Water Resources? Learn About Water Harvesting

 

Are you concerned with the impending issue of water scarcity? An adequate and reliable water supply is vital for the future of San Diego. Take this matter into your own hands by attending Brad Lancaster’s Water Harvesting speech on February 9th. He will be presenting Turning Drains into Sponges and Water Scarcity into Water Abundance. Afterward, there will be a Q&A session as well as the opportunity to purchase a signed copy of Brad’s newest book Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond.  

 

Brad is an expert in the field of rainwater harvesting and water management. He is also an experienced teacher, designer, consultant and co-founder of the Desert Harvesters non-profit organization. To learn more about Brad visit  www.harvestingrainwater.com.

 

This event is hosted by Engineers Without Borders – San Diego State University Chapter. This event is FREE to the public.

Brad Lancaster: Water Harvesting

Wednesday, February 9th from 5:30 to 8PM

 

Casa Real (Aztec Center) at San Diego State University

5500 Campanile Drive

San Diego, CA

  

Aztec Center - San Diego State University

Community Invited To Naval Base Coronado's Beach Clean-up, Feb. 1 at 8 a.m.

NAVAL BASE CORONADO, Calif. -- Naval Base Coronado will be hosting a shoreline beach clean-up at the South Silver Strand Training Complex Tuesday, Feb. 1 starting at 8 a.m., and YOU are invited!  Clean-up efforts will begin at 8:15 a.m. along the two mile stretch of the beach.

Join military and civilian employees plus other volunteers, as they spend the morning picking up trash and debris along the Silver Strand.  Help make a difference in the community and the environment.

Latex gloves and trash bags will be provided to all volunteers. It is recommended that you bring your own gloves if you have a latex allergy. Parking is available at the YMCA Camp Surf, located adjacent to the entrance of the Silver Strand Training Complex.

For more information, please contact the NBC Public Affairs Office at: (619) 545-8167.

-USN-

 

Submitted by Naval Base Coronado Public Affairs Office

Coastal Observing System Tracks Tijuana River Plume

 

A Common Sense reader shared this message:

"There has been considerable media coverage regarding the sizeable Tijuana sewage spill.  Here is a neat website with a lot of coastal information, as well as a method of tracking the sewage."

SCCOOS

Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System

Editor's Note: Fascinating site. I will be adding this one to the sidebar.

Participate In Rideshare Week — October 4th - 8th

 

i have choices. i make a difference. iCommute.

Rideshare Week is a nationally recognized event held the first week in October to promote commute alternatives to driving alone. Make the choice to join commuters and companies nationwide as they replace their solo drive with a new, more sustainable commute. It could lead to additional choices for you by providing more money in your pocket, better health, less stress, new acquaintances, and more. Rideshare Week 2010 starts October 4 - put the “I” in your Commute.

     • I save money – I take transit
    • I burn calories – I bike to work
    • I save on gas – I vanpool
    • I stay fit – I walk to work
    • I meet new people – I carpool
    • I reduce stress – I telework

 

Source: iCommute

NASA Supporting Gulf Oil Spill Wildlife Recovery

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is helping with the unprecedented effort to save wildlife from the effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

The first group of hatchlings from endangered sea turtle eggs brought from beaches along the northern U.S. Gulf Coast was released into the Atlantic Ocean off Kennedy’s central Florida coast on July 11. Twenty-two Kemp’s ridley turtles were set free on a Kennedy Space Center beach, which is part of the Canaveral National Seashore.

 

After being collected on June 26, the Kemp’s ridley nest from Walton County, Fla., was packed in a Styrofoam box with sand and transported by a specially-equipped FexEx truck to a secure, climate-controlled facility at Kennedy where it was monitored until incubation was complete. Most of the nests that will be collected are from loggerhead turtles, but nests from leatherback and green turtles, in addition to Kemp’s ridley, may be brought to the Kennedy hatchery.