SANTA BARBARA, Calif. March 15, 2010 - The California Ocean Wastewater Discharge Report and Inventory is an exhaustive survey of wastewater discharged into the Pacific Ocean along the California coast from the Oregon border to San Diego/Tijuana. In addition to being the first resource that gathers into one place some important, hard-to-find details of California wastewater discharge, the HTO Report and Inventory examines the new threats posed by Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) that escape standard wastewater treatment.
CECs include some ingredients found in personal care products (antibacterial soaps, shampoos, pharmaceuticals) and other chemicals. Now being discharged directly into the environment, these chemicals are making their way into sea life and humans. While state agencies are studying which chemicals to monitor, the HTO Report and Inventory goes a step further: it discusses wastewater treatment methods that remove CECs as well as bacteria, before reclaimed water is discharged into the ocean and groundwater. It discusses the need to remove CECs from biosolids now used on agricultural crops. Finally, this report outlines the need for technology to reclaim all wastewater, and how reclamation of wastewater can end ocean discharges altogether.
The HTO Report and Inventory, which took nearly five years to produce, includes National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit details, the volumes of sewage disposed by each wastewater treatment plant, location of ocean outfalls (depth of water/distance from shore or in tidal zones), as well as an assessment of California's inconsistent reporting and compliance systems. Included is a Google "fly-to" map, created by HTO research associate Katherine Engel, that allows navigation to wastewater treatment plants and outfalls, offering close-up views of both as well as detailed information about them.
As a result of what Heal the Ocean has learned from doing this study, we are encouraging citizens to take immediate action -- by reconsidering the use of products that contain the chemicals on the list of Contaminants of Emerging Concern, and opting for less toxic alternatives. This is called "source control." Please go to our special feature of the report, "Bad for the Ocean, Bad for You" to read about ingredients to avoid -- not only for health of the ocean, but for your own health as well. Also, please read Katherine Engel's important essay, "Personal Care Products – a Research Journey," which highlights the disconcerting discoveries she has made while working on this project.
Heal the Ocean intends the Report and Inventory to be a valuable resource for the public agencies charged with protecting ocean water quality, as well as an educational tool for wastewater regulators and policy makers. Please share this information with others who may find this report and GIS mapping valuable. And then tell your elected representatives to implement the recommendations in the report.
