Mapping bay pollution

When 15 people set out to map drains emptying into Newport Bay on Saturday, Doug Kent, ocean-friendly gardening coordinator for the Newport Beach Surfriders, said it looked to “just be a strange little exercise.”

But as the results poured in, he said, it became clear these little things could have a big effect.

“It was amazing the amount of drains we found, we just started adding dots to the map. Now there’s more than 100,” Kent said.

By foot and kayak, volunteers trolled the waters and shores of Newport Bay looking for drains the city and county had not pinpointed on their maps. They found more than 100 runoff points into the bay that the city had not mapped, Kent said.

“We all suspected there were probably a lot more outlets than were there on the maps,” said Newport Beach City Councilwoman Nancy Gardner, who helped Saturday. “A number of years ago we had done something like this. Nothing much seemed to come out of that.”

Organizers think this time will be different.

Saturday was the first step, they said. Kent, Gardner and others plan on going back out and pinpointing the drains with exact longitude and latitudes for the city’s data.

They’ll also describe the drain’s size, type and appearance of the water and growth around it. Volunteers might even take samples of the water and growths around the drains to determine what, exactly, is spilling into Newport Bay.

For Dennis Baker, president of Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends, determining what’s going into the bay and from where is the ultimate goal.

When water from fertilized gardens makes it to the bay, it carries nutrients with it, Baker said.

While some nutrients are good, he said, “when you throw large quantities into the ocean, you can have an imbalance.”

The nutrients feed algae along the coast, he said. When algae decomposes, it drains oxygen from the water. As the algae spreads and consumes oxygen, marine life dies, only boosting the algae even more.

Soon, you’ll have a “dead zone” absent of marine life like fish, turtles and muscles, Baker said.

If researchers can determine the water source for these newly mapped drains, maybe they can stem the tide of pollutants like nutrients into the bay, Baker said.

“Our first purpose was to simply create a map, which would show our community where things are draining. I think it’ll be eye opening,” Gardner said. “I think people don’t always connect their activities to the run-off in the bay. But if we can show them, look, when you’re over there, this is what’s coming out over here. They need that visual imagery to make that connection.”

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at [email protected].