New Water Quality Rules Hit L.A. County

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board recently issued new stormwater rules that require cities and local areas to monitor and limit a wider spectrum of pollutants in runoff, despite local protests over the high price tag of enforcement.

Southern California's water control agency has approved vast new stormwater regulations in the ongoing battle to keep debris and pollutants from its Pacific shores.

On November 9, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board revised the county's stormwater permitting. Cities will be required to monitor and limit 33 types of pollutants, ranging from bacteria to lead, which can potentially reach the ocean via stormwater or other runoff.

In contrast to the new rules, the previous permit required cities like Malibu to monitor only two types of pollutants. The beachfront city has spent $70 million over the last ten years to improve water quality and comply with water regulations, according to local officials, and the new rules could put tremendous new strain on the city's finances.

Before the water control board approved the new system, Malibu Mayor Lou La Monte warned against language that may entice litigation against the city for not meeting the new standards, in spite of any ongoing efforts to comply.

''Some [pollution is] out of the city's control and doesn't even come from stormwater,'' said La Monte. ''The language in the proposed''regulations would still encourage''third party lawsuits based on''requirements that could be impossible''for [Malibu] to meet.''

Dozens of cities affected by the rule change protested the board's decision as impractical and too costly to enforce. Meeting the water standards could cost the city of Los Angeles $5 billion to $8 billion alone over the next two decades, estimated Shahram Kharaghani, manager of the city's watershed protection division.

The pollution permit rules apply to most cities, unincorporated county areas and the county flood control district, covering an area of about 3,000 square miles. About 3,500 miles of underground drains and 500 miles of open drainage channels fall under the scope of the new rules, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The county flood control district is planning a ballot measure next year to seek voter approval for a fee to pay for runoff controls. The fee, estimated at $54 for an average home, would raise about $275 million a year, Kharaghani said.

Some environmentalists worry the bill's language is too lax, interpreting one provision???(R)???AE'?N????e'?N,A+ as saying that if municipalities adopt and implement a watershed plan approved by the board they will be ''in compliance,'' even if the pollution limits are exceeded.

Capturing runoff with ''green infrastructure'' is one of the most efficient and cost-effective methods to treat stormwater, and the need for new installations could provide business opportunities to landscapers in the Southern California area. Future area projects will likely include public parking lots converted to permeable paving, street curbs altered to send road runoff to rain gardens rather than storm drains, or pocket park plantings put in place to hold and filter rainwater.

Runoff remains the leading cause of water pollution in Southern California despite more than two decades of regulation, beach closures and bans on eating fish caught in Santa Monica Bay.