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Key findings from the Ocean, Harbor & Bay Water Quality Report
Sewage Spills and Ocean, Harbor and Bay Water Closures (1987 – 2018)
A total number of 87 sewage spills were reported to the OWPP in 2017-18, which was the lowest number of sewage spills reported in Orange County since 1990.
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In 2018, 15% of the 87 sewage spills reported, resulted in ocean, harbor and bay water closures representing a total of 13 ocean water closures for the year.
Of the 13 ocean water closures that occurred in 2018, sewage spills originating on private property accounted for 65% of the ocean, harbor and bay water closures for the year. One of the ocean water closures was the result of two sewage spills, one from a private property and the other from a sanitation district sewage line.
Blockages in pipelines have been responsible for 63% of all beach closures since 1999. The major causes of pipeline blockages during this period are the infiltration of roots (31%) and buildup of grease (25%).
number of posted warnings dropped significantly to 37.6 BMDs a year. Low rainfall totals and less urban runoff impacting the beach areas in Orange County are considered to be the two major factors for the decrease in the number of BMDs.
In 2018, Bolsa Chica State Beach, Crystal Cove State Beach, Aliso County Beach, South Laguna Beaches and Capistrano Bay District Beach did not exceed any AB 411 bacteriological standards from April 1 to October 31. A summary of this data is available in Annex A: Postings by Open Coastal Water Areas 2000 – 2018.
Excellent bacteriological water quality (less than 1.0 BMDs) was recorded at all Huntington City Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna City Beach and Capistrano Beach monitoring locations from April 1 to October 31. A summary of this data is available in Annex A: Postings by Open Coastal Water Areas 2000 – 2018.
The only beach areas in 2018 to exceed a total number of 4.0 BMDs from April 1 to October 31 were Seal Beach (4.6 BMDs) and San Clemente City Beach (19.4 BMDs). A summary of this data is available in Annex A: Postings by Open Coastal Water Areas 2000 – 2018.
Posted Warnings Due to Bacteriological Standards Violations from April 1 to October 31 (2000 – 2018)
In 2018, the total number of Beach Mile Days (BMDs) posted for Orange County beaches due to violations of bacteriological water quality standards was 51.6 BMDs. From 2000 – 2012 the average number of posted warnings was 205.2 BMDs, but over the past six-year period (2013-18) the average
