NEWPORT BEACH : Study Sought on Plan to Release Waste Water

The City Council has requested an environmental study on possible effects of a plan by the Irvine Ranch Water District to release partially treated waste water from duck ponds near the Irvine-Newport Beach boundary into San Diego Creek, from where it would ultimately flow into Upper Newport Bay.

If the plan is approved by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, water draining into the bay could increase nitrates there by 1,000 pounds a day--an estimated 27% rise, according to water district consultants working on the proposed Wetlands Demonstration Project.

The water district wants to run a projected 15 million gallons of water a day through three duck ponds to filter out some of the nitrates, then pump the water into the creek. The duck ponds were abandoned by two shooting clubs in 1988.

While the plan would pose no threat to people, Newport Beach environmentalists fear the increased nitrates would increase the Back Bay algae blooms they have worked to reduce over the past 10 years.

“If you were to drive out there today, it looks like a golf course,” environmentalist Jack Skinner told the council, referring to the algae blooms.

“One cannot argue that it’s a health hazard like human waste (would be),” he said. “It can interfere with the enjoyment of the bay, such as kayaking, swimming and fishing.”

Joanne Schneider, environmental program manager for the state water quality board, said the agency is unlikely to approve the Irvine plan without a focused environmental impact report on the project’s effects on the bay.