Our county’s main economic sectors—defense and military, tourism, and research and manufacturing—depend on an abundance of clean water to conduct business, attract customers and retain staff. Countywide our coastal areas, beaches, estuaries, rivers, streams and bays enhance the quality of life and well being for San Diegans, as well as greatly improving the aesthetics of our neighborhoods.
And for residents like me, our coastal waters provide a place to play. I’m known for my passions for kayaking and ocean swimming, and others enjoy coastal hikes, boating, fishing, surfing and natural spaces to gather with our family and friends after work. My district alone includes 461 acres of National City’s waterfront, 3. 5 miles of beach in the City of Imperial Beach, Silver Strand beach, San Diego Bay, Coronado City beach, Tijuana River and the Chula Vista waterfront- which includes two marinas and two waterfront parks. It’s also home to various sport fishing, sightseeing and whale-watching charters that operate out of these various harbors in our district. As former Coastal Commissioner and chair of the state’s Water, Park and Wildlife Committee, I am thrilled with such widespread collaboration and acknowledgement.
This is precisely why I co-authored, along with Assemblymember Mark Stone (Monterey) and Senator Marty Block (San Diego), Senate Concurrent Resolution 48 to commemorate California Swimmable Day. As a symbolic gesture to the importance of clean water year-round in our state, our resolution officially recognizes Californians’ rights to enjoy waters that are clean and safe for swimming. The state legislature adopted the resolution in July with bi-partisan support from more than 60 co-authors.
We acknowledge that polluted stormwater runoff is the number one source of contamination to California’s renowned waters. When it rains, water flows over streets, lawns, and parking lots, carrying a toxic soup of copper, lead, zinc and other heavy metals, oils and car fluids, bacteria, viruses and other harmful materials — untreated — to our rivers, lakes and coastal waters. It’s so toxic that it causes more petroleum pollution than oil spills—eight times more.
And when the beaches, rivers and lakes that we use and enjoy for swimming, fishing and drinking are polluted, we all pay the costs. Pervasive polluted runoff threatens California’s $9 billion beach economy. Closed beaches and canceled fishing trips translate into lost tourism revenue. And there are significant public health costs when people get sick from swimming in or even coming into contact with contaminated water. Contamination from polluted runoff at Los Angeles and Orange County beaches alone sickens approximately one million swimmers every year, resulting in $21 to $51 million in health costs from doctor visits and lost time at work. And when waters eventually become so seriously polluted that we can no longer use them for swimming, fishing, drinking, or other uses, we pay for the costly cleanup of the mess we’ve made.
In 1969, California passed the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act to entrust the state water board and nine regional boards to preserve and enhance the beneficial uses of our state’s waters. In 1972, the United States Congress passed the federal Clean Water Act with the goal of providing clean and safe waters for swimming, fishing and drinking. In 2012, more than 30 years later, it’s alarming that we still have waters so polluted they are unsafe for humans and wildlife.
This hits close to home for my constituents because toxins such as bacteria, trash and heavy metals makes our local Chollas Creek one of the most polluted waterways in our county, and it empties those unhealthy contaminants into our beloved San Diego Bay. Not only that, but development and channelization of the creek have disconnected the communities from free exercise and recreational opportunities that our urban rivers should provide for our people.
Taxpayer dollars already support public infrastructure to manage runoff, and regulations set requirements for new development or redevelopment projects to reduce their contribution to address this problem. Our resolution establishes that the California Legislature finds that implementation, enforcement and funding of federal and state stormwater regulations and other water laws are critical to California’s economy and its way of life.
Happy Swimmable California Day, San Diego. Though our resolution officially recognizes one day of the year, we know here in San Diego that every day is a swimmable day.
Hueso is California State Senator of the 40th District.
