Newport water-quality rules stoke confusion

June Casagrande

Shortly after the city set up a new division to educate people about

new water-quality rules, city staff are hearing rumors that people

hosing down their docks and boats are being approached by officials

warning them that they can no longer let that water run into the bay.

The strange thing is, it’s not the city who’s approaching them.

Neither is it the Harbor Patrol.

“It’s kind of an interesting little mystery,” Assistant City

Manager Dave Kiff said. “We can’t quite figure out who’s been talking

to people ... Our code enforcement people don’t go on the water. They

stay on the inland side of the bulkhead.”

Adding to the irony of the situation is the fact that,

technically, the new water quality rules don’t apply to people

washing docks or boats. The new rules are attached to the city’s

storm drain permit and contain strict controls on pollutants entering

the ocean or bay via storm drains. Under the rules, a shopkeeper can

no longer hose down the sidewalk in front of his business unless he

captures the water before it gets into the storm drain. But because

water running off docks and boats goes straight into the harbor, the

storm drain rules don’t apply. State law designates the harbor as “no

discharge,” which means that no wastewater can be put into the

harbor. But unlike the storm drain rules, this is nothing new.

City staff have contacted state water quality officials for some

guidance on the rules. The solution is to employ “best management

practices,” which are good-faith, common-sense efforts to keep

pollutants and waste wastewater out of the harbor.

To help clear up the matter for residents, city staff plan to send

letters in the next two weeks to everyone who owns a dock or mooring

in the harbor explaining steps boat and dock owners should take to

preserve water quality.

“A lot of people use Joy soap to clean their boats because it’s

really gentle, but it has a degreaser, and that [harms] fish in the

water, so Joy is not acceptable to clean boats or docks,” said

Councilman Tod Ridgeway, who serves on the city’s water quality

committee and who also is a boater.

The letter will offer some practical alternatives: Baking soda or

salt to scrub floors and decks; white vinegar mixed with fresh water

to clean floors and windows; cider vinegar mixed with baby oil to

polish chrome; and hydrogen peroxide in place of bleach as a

whitening agent. The letter will also suggest using small amounts of

water when washing down boats and docks and using mops and sponges to

pick up the water whenever possible.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

[email protected].