Pollution Prevention Programs

Special Projects

Mission Bay Outreach - Summer 2008

Help Keep Mission Bay Clean and Safe!

Please join Think Blue in promoting pollution prevention in Mission Bay. Think Blue will once again be out in Mission Bay every holiday weekend this summer (Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day) in order to educate residents and help prevent pollution in Mission Bay.

City staff and volunteers will be on location in the Think Blue booth to answer questions and provide educational outreach materials to visitors, RVers and boaters. The greeting station will be located in East Mission Bay, adjacent to the De Anza boat launch, and just North of the Visitor's Center. The station will also be decorated with educational banners and be supplied with outreach materials and give-away items.

All visitors to Mission Bay are welcome to stop by the booth to learn about ways to prevent pollution and help keep Mission Bay clean and safe for everyone. For more information or to report storm drain pollution, please call that Storm Water Hotline at (619) 235-1000.

Helpful Hints for Keeping Mission Bay Clean and Safe

Visitors:

• Visitors Tip Card (PDF: 448K)

• Leave your picnic area clean for the next user
• Tie up trash bags when full to keep birds out of trash
• Place overflow trash at the park's larger trash dumpsters
• Pick up pet waste and dispose of it in trash bins
• Change baby's diaper before playing in the water, and always use swim diapers for infants
• Never use the Bay as a "restroom"

Boaters:

• Boaters Tip Card (PDF: 451K)

• Install recycle and garbage bins on your boat. Store trash and food remains and dispose of them on land, never in the water
• Switch to reusable cups and containers on your boat to reduce trash
• Never throw cigarette butts into the Bay or ocean. Once submerged in water, toxic chemicals from the smoke in the filters threatens marine life
• Never dump sewage into the Bay, and please remember, it is illegal to dump sewage within three miles of the coast
• Properly pump out your boat, and use pump-out locations such as Quivira Basin in Mission Bay

RVers:

• RVers Tip Card (PDF: 396K)
• RV Dumpstation Locations Post Card (PDF: 1.1 MB)

• Use trash bins and dumpsters or bring your own empty bags to fill
• Tie up trash bags when full to help birds stay out of trash
• Clean up after your pet and dispose of pet waste in trash bins
• Change baby's diaper before playing in the water, and always use swim diapers for infants
• Use only RV dump stations to empty your septic tanks. Follow proper procedures to prevent spills
• In addition to the dump station at the Visitor's Center, there are many stations identified throughout San Diego for your use

Program and Project Background

Think Blue continues to maintain its ongoing programmatic focus to reduce storm drain pollution and educate the public on steps that they can take to help. The City has decided to provide this outreach program for Mission Bay as an additional dimension for Summer 2008.

The City has chosen to outreach to Mission Bay RV users, boaters, and general visitors during holiday weekends and to observe the use of the Bay. Direct outreach to bay users will be conducted at Mission Bay boat launches, RV parking areas, and special events by disseminating postcards created specifically for each user group with pollution prevention tips for boats, RVs, and general visitors. A second postcard has been created for RV users, listing alternative locations for proper waste dumping, because there is only one operational dumping station in Mission Bay (located at the Visitor's Center).

The Think Blue team is also taking time to observe high-activity, holiday and event behaviors at Mission Bay to improve the effectiveness of future "Think Blue" pollution-prevention education and outreach programs. Volunteers will also make observations and documentation of use in different areas of the Bay, including boat launches per day, daily RV counts, pedestrian traffic counts, and overall observations of the areas. Throughout this program, the City will establish partnerships with stakeholders to disseminate information in their organizations, create a newsletter to be distributed to stakeholders and conduct community-based social marketing efforts to encourage behavior change.

Research

Mission Bay has seen increased pollution due to high beach traffic, boat wash-down pollution, storm drain discharges, and waste disposal practices from RVs and boats not monitored. According to the California Department of Boating and Waterways, one weekend boater or RV dumping untreated sewage into a body of water produces the same amount of bacterial pollution as 10,000 people whose sewage passes through a treatment plant.

Mission Bay is a Federal "No Discharge" Zone, which means that no treated or untreated waste discharge into the Bay is allowed. 5 out of the 7 locations where water samples most frequently exceeded established bacterial safety levels were in the east side of Mission Bay (Wildlife Refuge, Campland, De Anza Cove, Visitor's Center, Leisure Lagoon).

Boats, RVs, and illegal sewage dumping in the bay or storm drains may contribute to periodic increases in bacteria in Mission Bay. Scientific studies have found birds are the primary source of bacteria in Mission Bay waters (67%), followed by unknown sources (10%), canine sources (9%), and human sources (5%). Storm drains are a likely source of bacteria as grassy areas have high levels of bacteria, and irrigation can cause higher level of bacteria in receiving waters via run-off. Eel grass and algae deposits at wrack line (high tide line) and in storm drain outflows helps trap bacteria and encourages its growth and survival for longer periods of time.

Street Sweeping Pilot Study

The Storm Water Pollution Prevention Division will be stepping up its street sweeping efforts to help reduce pollution entering San Diego Bay, Mission Bay and the ocean off La Jolla Shores. The new pilot study will provide more frequent street sweeping in the developed areas that drain into these waters. The goal of the pilot study is to determine if increased street sweeping can help the City better comply with local, state and federal Clean Water regulations.

• Street Sweeping Pilot Study Frequently Asked Questions (PDF: 122K)

Pilot Study to be Implemented in Three Phases

The increased street sweeping pilot study is intended to significantly reduce the amount of trash, debris, and other harmful pollutants, such as metals, entering local waters after washing down from the City's roadways. The pilot study is expected to last 24 months and will be implemented in three phases.

• Phase I begins on April 1, 2008 and will include the Chollas Creek Watershed communities of Greater North Park, Normal Heights, Kensington-Talmadge, City Heights, Logan Heights, and Memorial.
• Phase II begins on April 14, 2008 and will include the Clairemont Mesa, Kearny Mesa, and Linda Vista communities surrounding the Mission Bay watershed.
• Phase III will begin on September 2, 2008 and will include the La Jolla, University, Torrey Pines, and Torrey Hills communities draining into the La Jolla Shores watershed.

Each phase of the pilot study will include increased sweeping of routes in both commercial and residential areas. The City will be employing new vacuum assisted sweepers as part of the pilot effort and will be communicating the increased frequency of sweeping and the new sweeping schedules to the affected communities.

Pilot study Scheduled to run Through May of 2010

Street Sweeping Pilot Route Maps

• Greater North Park, Kensington-Talmadge, & City Heights Community Routes (PDF: 737K)
• Logan Heights & Community Routes (PDF: 389K)
• Clairemont Mesa, Kearny Mesa, & Linda Vista Community Routes (PDF: 894K)
• La Jolla, University, Torrey Pines, & Torrey Hills Community Routes (North) (PDF: 1.4Mb)
• La Jolla, University, Torrey Pines, & Torrey Hills Community Routes (South) (PDF: 1.1Mb)

New Effort Part of Larger Water Quality Improvements Strategy

The new pilot study is part of ongoing effort to reduce water pollution and maintain the City's compliance with water quality regulations. The program was developed as part of the City's Strategic Plan for Watershed Activity Implementation completed in November of last year. The plan outlines a process to identify activities that can be implemented to meet multiple storm water regulations in an integrated and efficient manner. A full copy of the plan can be found at Program Reports.

The pilot study is designed to investigate the impact of two different improvements to the City's street sweeping program. First, the City will investigate the most efficient sweeping frequencies for both residential and commercial areas. Second, the City will compare its existing mechanical sweepers with newly acquired vacuum-assisted sweepers to determine which one is more effective in removing pollutants, especially harmful metals, off of City roads.

Locations for Pilot Study Efforts Based on Careful Monitoring

Locations for the pilot study were selected based on monitoring data showing that these areas that have a high potential for metal contaminants. These areas typically have, or are near, high concentrations of industrial and commercial facilities and/or are crisscrossed with heavily traveled major streets.

The Storm Water Pollution Prevention Division and the Street Division have been working together, in conjunction with other City operations, to plan, implement, and eventually assess the findings to be derived from this pilot study. The findings will allow the City to make better choices for its pollution prevention efforts in the future.

New Signs and New Routes to be Unveiled as Pilot Study Phased-in

The City will be installing and unveiling new signs describing parking restrictions necessary to increase the frequency of street sweeping during the pilot study. The City will also be communicating the change in schedule via advertising in community press and with door hangers for homes in the affected areas.

In the communities of Greater North Park, Normal Heights, Kensington-Talmadge, and City Heights, the City's Street Division has installed over 1,000 new signs along the Phase I pilot study route. These signs will remain covered until the April 1, 2008 sweeping start date of the Phase I pilot study route. Notification will be given beginning on February 28 to the residents in the areas affected by the pilot study.

For the duration of Phase I, segments of several preexisting commercial and residential street sweeping routes will be combined to constitute new pilot study routes. The existing routes are now typically swept on a once-a-month or once-a-week schedule. Sweeping along the new combined routes will temporarily increase to twice a week. The commercial and retail areas included in the pilot study (sections of University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard) will be swept from 2 am to 6 am. The residential areas (including Wightman Street and Meade Avenue) will also be temporarily swept twice a week between the hours of 8 am and 11am.

During Phase II, the sweeping frequency for the pilot study's commercial route (including Genesee Avenue and Balboa Avenue) will not change. The residential route - the Mount Abernathy Avenue neighborhood bounded by Kesling Street and Thornwood Street both north and south of Balboa Avenue - will have sweeping temporarily increased from once a month to twice a month.

For Phase III sweeping now provided once a week will increase to twice a week for the pilot study area in the La Jolla, University, Torrey Pines, and Torrey Hills communities. The principle roads to be swept will include Hillside Drive, La Jolla Shores Drive, Calle del Oro, Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla Parkway, and Sorrento Valley Road.

The Storm Water Pollution Prevention Division and the Street Division have been working together, in conjunction with other City entities, to plan, implement, and eventually assess this pilot study. In addition, several professional consultants and local non-profit organizations, such as San Diego Coastkeeper and Alpha Project for the Homeless, Inc., are assisting with various outreach and education aspects of the pilot study.

For additional information regarding the street sweeping pilot study and other water quality improvement programs, please see call the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Division at (619) 235-1000.

For information regarding street sweeping routes in your neighborhood, please see Street Sweep Schedule.

San Diego Watersheds Common Grounds/San Diego Bay
Grant Project

This section is coordinating a three year project to bring water quality monitoring data to the public's fingertips by developing an internet-based geographic information system for the San Diego Bay Watershed. Partners in this endeavor are: San Diego State University Geography Department, SANDAG, Unified Port of San Diego, and San Diego Baykeeper. The goal of project is the establishment of a fully functional, user friendly web interface that provides the public with San Diego Bay water quality information. The tool will be available to the public and on line in 2007. The San Diego Watersheds Common Ground Project: San Diego Bay Watershed Demonstration.is funded by a grant by the State Water Resources Control Board under Proposition 13.

Areas of Special Biological Significance
Clean Up and Abatement Orders
Chollas TMDL- A link to RWQCB site