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Port of San Diego Joins Calls for Help to Deal With Cross-Border Sewage

The San Diego Unified Port District is adding its voice to the call for a state of emergency over cross-border sewage flows in the South Bay.

The port sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom asking him to take the issue seriously.

Plans for Urgent South Bay Wastewater Plant Repairs Revealed

As calls to fix the sewage crisis in the South Bay continue to intensify, there were some heated moments inside Wednesday morning’s Regional Water Quality Control Board meeting.

“We continue to be woken up by the smell of chemicals and sewage in the middle of the night,” said Paloma Aguirre, Imperial Beach’s mayor, as she read an emotional letter from one of her constituents to the board.

San Clemente Council Approves Letter of Support for South Coast Water’s Desalination Plant

As the South Coast Water District prepares to present its proposed desalination plant to the California Coastal Commission next week, the San Clemente City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday night, Oct. 4, to publicly back the project.

The council will send a pre-written letter of support to the Coastal Commission, which will consider on Oct. 13 whether to approve SCWD’s application to construct the proposed Doheny Ocean Desalination Plant.

What’s Causing Beach Pollution Near the San Diego River? Blame Sewer Leaks, Study Suggests

A new study by San Diego State University scientists finds that the bacterial outbreaks in the San Diego River that force frequent local beach closures are caused primarily by leaks in aging sewer pipes, not by homeless encampments or failing septic tanks.

RWQCB Rescinds Waste Discharge Order for Oak Knoll Campground

The Regional Water Quality Control Board rescinded the waste discharge order for Oak Knoll Campground in Pauma Valley.

Pure Water San Diego Projects Underway After Receiving Milestone Permit

Pre-construction activities at the North City Water Reclamation Plant and the future Pure Water Facility are underway as part of Phase 1 of the Pure Water San Diego program. More than 80,000 cubic yards of soil have been moved to date during initial site work, the equivalent of approximately 25 Olympic sized swimming pools.

Last month, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted an order granting a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES permit, to the City of San Diego to add purified water to the Miramar Reservoir for Phase 1 of the Pure Water San Diego program. The approval is a major milestone for the program.

RWQCB Approves Camp Pendleton Waste Discharge Order Rescission

The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board approved a rescission of the waste discharge order for Camp Pendleton’s California Sewage Treatment Plant No. 9.

The 7-0 board vote May 13 eliminates the waste discharge requirements for the Las Pulgas plant which has been replaced.

The RWQCB initially issued a waste discharge order for the plant in 1998. The sewage has since been diverted to Camp Pendleton’s Southern Regional Tertiary Treatment Plant and Northern Regional Tertiary Treatment Plant, which supports the production of recycled water for landscape irrigation and seawater intrusion mitigation.

Between 1999 and 2012 the United States Marine Corps received 12 staff enforcement letters regarding California Sewage Treatment Plant No. 9 and three notices of violation for the waste discharge order. During that time 94 violations for deficient monitoring, overflow events, and exceeding the pH limit occurred. No violations took place during the final seven years of the California Sewage Treatment Plant No. 9 operation.

Carlsbad Supports Modified Plan to Restore Buena Vista Lagoon

A hard-fought compromise on the saltwater restoration of the Buena Vista Lagoon won the enthusiastic support of the Carlsbad City Council last week.

The agreement between property owners, nonprofits and multiple governmental agencies outlines a plan to remove the weir, or low wooden dam at the mouth of the lagoon, and excavate the entire 220-acre preserve to restore tidal flushing.

Silt has been steadily filling the lagoon since the weir was built in the 1970s, and in the last 30 years about 62 acres of the formerly open water has been filled by cattails and reeds. Without intervention, the lagoon would continue to fill with sediment and vegetation until it eventually disappears.

California Wants Feds to Address Cross-Border Sewage

State water pollution regulators in San Diego are asking federal officials to do more monitoring of cross-border water flows that could be polluted.

The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board issued an investigative order in February that requires more monitoring of sewage-tainted cross-border flows.

The order requires the International Boundary and Water Commission to monitor more than a dozen locations over an 18-month period.

Regional Board Executive Director David Gibson said the order also calls for the testing results to be made public.

Fecal Bacteria In California’s Waterways Increases With Homeless Crisis

President Donald Trump, a self-described germophobe, has made no secret of his disgust with California’s growing homeless problem, which he has called a “disgrace” and “inappropriate” and equated to “living in hell.”

“We should all work together to clean up these hazardous waste and homeless sites before the whole city rots away,” Trump tweeted about San Francisco on Oct. 26. “Very bad and dangerous conditions, also severely impacting the Pacific Ocean and water supply.”