City of los angeles general plan

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CITY OF LOS ANGELES CONSERVATION ELEMENT

Adopted September 2001

II-51

sources that underwent facility upgrades to achieve compliance with the

permit. 

Non-point pollution sources. With effective monitoring and control of

point sources, storm related, non-point source pollution became the

major source of bay pollution. Bacterial, trash and other water borne

pollution is the greatest during the first heavy storms of the rainy

season. Debris and sediments from air pollution and other sources that

accumulate during the dry season on roofs, vegetation and other

surfaces are flushed by storms into the drainage systems and then into

the bays. Overflow or damage to wastewater systems is most likely to

occur during heavy storms. 

The Clean Water Act was clarified (1990) concerning non-point sources

and general stormwater runoff. Requirements are being implemented by

the second County of Los Angeles municipal NPDES municipal stormwater

permit (1996). The goal of the second permit is to reduce pollutants in

storm water and urban runoff in order to achieve compliance with

federal standards and improve the water quality of the bays. The county

is the principal permittee, the 86 cities within the county are co-

permittees. Identified potential pollution sources, ranging from

restaurants to harbors, must use "best management practices" (BMPs) to

the maximum extent practicable to reduce or eliminate water borne

pollutants. 

The permit BMPs are any programs or technology used to reduce or

eliminate water borne pollutants associated with stormwater runoff.

City of Los Angeles BMPs include installation of systems to capture,

divert and/or clean the water; installation of drainage systems to

divert rain water from gutters to other beneficial uses (e.g.,

irrigation); and increased stormwater diversion (e.g., expansion of

water spreading grounds). Municipal code amendments (adopted 1999),

modification of city procedures and new guidelines were prepared by the

Bureau of Sanitation, the city's lead agency for NPDES compliance, in

coordination with other city agencies.

In January 1999, the EPA directed the RWQCB to establish more stringent

standards for eliminating contaminants (trash, chemicals, metals) that

are carried by stormwater into local creeks, rivers and drainage

systems and are discharged into the ocean. The RWQCB was instructed by

the EPA to establish standards for targeted water bodies, including the

Los Angeles River, Ballona Creek and Santa Monica Bay.

The current phase of water cleanup includes assessment of "total

maximum daily loads" (TMDL) of particular contaminants for specific

water bodies. A TMDL is the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water

body can tolerate and still maintain the designated beneficial uses.

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CITY OF LOS ANGELES CONSERVATION ELEMENT

Adopted September 2001

II-52

Beneficial uses include drinking water sources, fishing, habitat

maintenance, recreation. The first TMDL program selected by the RWQCB

that affects the city is trash pollution of the bays.

Chemical pollution. For over a century, oil, raw sewage and chemical

waste have been discharged into the ocean from land sources and ocean

vessels. Sometimes contamination has been so bad that it has resulted

in injury to wildlife and quarantine of beaches. Chemical contamination

of coastal waters and sediments can have long term detrimental effects

on plant and animal life. Harmful chemical compounds are carried

through the food chain from silt feeding creatures to fish, then to

birds and land animals, including humans, that eat fish. Contamination

has caused genetic mutations and reduced the numbers plants and animals

in some areas, especially near sewer outfalls and chemical

concentrations. Some contaminants, like DDT, if ingested can cause

cancer, respiratory problems and other illnesses in humans and may

contaminate ocean sediments for decades. 

The Clean Water Act prohibits dumping of chemicals into water bodies.

The Bureau of Sanitation monitors the city's drainage systems,

investigates illegal dumping and cites identified offenders. However,

existing toxic deposits still threaten human health and the ecological

systems of the bays. It will take years for some sediment communities

to recover. Some bottom feeding fish continue to carry contaminants at

concentration levels that are considered hazardous for human

consumption.

The main source of chemical contaminants is from chemicals deposited on

the Palos Verdes Shelf between 1949 and 1971 when chemical companies

dumped DDT and other toxic chemical waste into the sewer system. The

110 tons of DDT, the world's largest known deposit, is spread over a 17

square mile area of the Palos Verdes Shelf. The dumping was discovered

after seals and other marine life began to be affected by chemical

poisoning. Commercial fishing of the white croaker has been banned

since 1990 from the near shore waters of the shelf, including the Los

Angeles harbor, due to high levels of hazardous chemicals in its

tissues. 

Systematic cleanup of the shelf began in 1998 when the Los Angeles

County Sanitation Districts and 155 municipalities agreed to a court

settlement. They will pay $45.7 million to a "superfund" operated by

the EPA for the cleanup. During the summer of 2000, the EPA began

covering 180 acres of the shelf near the White's Point sewer outfall

with sand and silt. The controversial experimental program is intended

to abate the contamination impacts of the chemical pollutants. The EPA

will increase enforcement of the no-fishing zone around the shelf and

will expand public information and warnings to consumers, urging them

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