Water pollution, drought spell double trouble
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

ACTIVIST- "Folks, we're going to have a problem," actor Ed Begley Jr. said at the conference. He encourages awareness.

Every drop of water counts, especially in Southern California, said the experts at the 2008 Water Runoff Conference March 5 at Pepperdine University. Too much water is being wasted and far more of the precious resource could be saved.

Start with landscaping. Water hungry lawns and nonnative landscaping simply don't belong in California's dry Mediterranean climate conditions, said Melina Sempill Watts, Malibu Creek Watershed coordinator for the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Watts kicked off the day-long event with a story of how Santa Barbara residents tackled drought conditions in the 1970s by intentionally letting their lawns turn brown.

"Lawns don't belong in southern California," said Dorothy Green, founder of Heal the Bay.

Green recommends homeowners landscape their gardens with an eye toward the state's "natural heritage."

Experts figure that between 40 and 70 percent of the water delivered to Southern California is used for outdoor purposes.

Much of Southern California's water- and all of the water distributed by the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District- is imported.

Although there's enough water to meet the needs of the population, Green said half the water that comes into California is wasted.

Wasting water also wastes energy. About 20 percent of electricity used in California stems from transporting water from the north. Thirty percent of the gas used in the state is also tied to water transport.

The State Water Project transports water from the Sierra Nevada foothills to Los Angeles via the California Aqueduct. Some Southern California regions also rely on water from the Colorado River.

More water each year is being lost to urban runoff, the experts said. Not only is the water being wasted, it's polluting the streams and oceans.

Dr. Shelley Luce, a member of Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission, offered some backyard solutions to water runoff and pollution. She said there's "instant contamination." as soon as rain water runs down the storm drains and into the bay.

Luce suggested "end of pipe solutions" including the use of trash screens that divert water from storm drains.

One creative solution presented by Luce was the "Oros Green Street Project." The work included retrofitting streets to allow water from rooftops to go directly into "rain gardens." Storm drains are circumvented and the water is absorbed into the ground, Luce said.

Luce believes that 40 percent of water could be saved through similar innovative methods.

Flooding during storms has been a major problem in the San Fernando Valley, said Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. A multiagency program to install underground cisterns now sends the extra water to the San Fernando Valley aquifer rather than into the ocean, the supervisor said.

"It's not just about the Malibu coastline, it's about upstream activity," Yaroslavsky said.

Dr. Michael Stenstrom, a professor from UCLA's department of civil and environmental engineering, said a modification of construction codes could prevent some of the water runoff. Rather than allowing a series of unending concrete sidewalks, cities should employ "broken curbs" to allow water to infiltrate the ground, he said.

"When you pave something you get more pollution," Senstrom said.

The perils of pollution

Malibu Mayor Jeff Jennings said his city guarded against water pollution by building a water treatment facility to catch the upstream urban runoff and prevent it from entering Malibu Creek. Another facility is being designed for Paradise Cove, Jennings said.

Yaroslavsky applaued the city's successes in dealing with pollution. The Marie Canyon beach outlet located in the western part of the city was one of the three most polluted creeks in the state, Yaroslavsky said. But a new water filtration plant is able to take polluted stream water and clean the toxins out before it reaches the ocean.

"At a million bucks a crack, it's a steal," Yaroslavsky said of the plant's price tag.

Determining the cause of pollution is bit trickier, he said.

"Science will be the road map to mitigating the problem," Yaroslavsky said. DNA testing will allow scientists to identify whether pollution stems from "deer, mountain lions or me," he said.

Kirsten James, a water quality specialist for Heal the Bay, discussed other types of pollution that are impacting creeks and the ocean. Millions of tons of plastic debris finds its way to the ocean, including small bags, bottle caps, containers and a variety of polystyrene materials, James said.

UCLA's Richard Ambrose said algae blooms in creeks are caused by excess bacteria. The algae chokes off the oxygen supply that marine animals require. In addition, pesticides that mix with creek water disrupt endocrine functions and alter hormone levels in the animals, Ambrose said.

But it's not just marine life that is in peril from pesticides in water. "Birds eat it, people eat it. Male fish have been effeminized, he said.

It was once thought that the ocean provided enough dilution of chemicals to prevent such biological calamity, but scientific evidence suggests otherwise, Ambrose said. "The concentrations are measurable."

"Green" and other solutions

Conference attendees discussed how environmentally friendly greenscapes, green roofs and green buildings can help save the water. At the Los Angeles headquarters of TreePeople, an environmental organization, about 220,000 gallons of water are saved each year through the use of a giant cistern, said Andy Lipkis, the group's founder.

Also discussed was water desalination. Dorothy Green said that while the technology exists to desalinate ocean water, the method is a waste of energy.

"It takes as much energy to desalinate as it does to clean water through treatment," she said.

Green also said to watch out for the substitution of ethanol for gasoline in the attempt to reduce the demand for oil.

"It's a huge water sucker," Green said. It takes four to six gallons of water to create a gallon of ethanol, she said. When the irrigation of crops is calculated into the equation, the total rises to 1,700 gallons of water for the one gallon of fuel.

"Land without water isn't worth very much," Green said.

What's next?

Ed Begley Jr., actor and environmental activist, closed the conference with a call to action.

"Don't tell people what you're going to do, but what you've done," Begley said.

Begley lives in a solar-paneled house, drives an electric car and focuses on environmental solutions in his television show, "Living With Ed."

Begley said he remembers in the 1970s when he was told smog couldn't be reduced because the fix was too expensive.

"Well we didn't go broke," he said. Catalytic converters were created and helped reduce pollution over the next 30 years.

Begley predicted water will be the cause of many struggles in years to come as snow pack levels decline, glaciers recede, and drought conditions make water a more precious commodity.

"Folks, we're going to have a problem," Begley said.