DATE: May 14, 2019
SUBJECT:
Title
PRESENTATION AND UPDATE ON THE DISTRICT'S CLEAN WATER INITIATIVES: HEALTHY BAY EFFORTS INCLUDING POLLUTION PREVENTION, SEDIMENT CLEANUPS, AND BAY WATER QUALITY MONITORING
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The District's vision for clean water is supported by several environmental initiatives focused on achieving pollution prevention, healthy ecosystems and enhanced experiences. Programs in place include those which address pollution prevention and legacy contamination. The District also participates in the comprehensive Regional Harbor Monitoring Program to understand trends over time in sediment quality, water quality and marine life in San Diego Bay. The District's clean water initiatives use science-based management decisions to ensure long-term ecosystem health.
Bacteria, trash and heavy metals have been identified as priority pollutants for San Diego Bay. The District has developed unique programs and strategies to address each priority pollutant, including a novel outreach and education campaign, #ThatsMyBay. Legacy contamination also remains a District focus, specifically heavy metals and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) embedded in San Diego Bay sediment as a result of historical industrial and other activities. The remediation of legacy contamination involves removing pollutants and improving sediment quality, which enhances the long-term viability of bay ecosystems. Conducting the Regional Harbor Monitoring Program every five years also allows staff to monitor water and sediment quality over time, a critical component to measuring progress towards clean water goals.
Voluntary initiatives above and beyond compliance, regulatory efforts, management actions geared towards achieving programmatic goals, as well as outreach and community efforts all play an integral part in achieving clean water. To date, the guidance and decisions made by the Board of Port Commissioners, as well as the collaborative efforts across District d...
Click here for full text