SAN JUAN CREEK

SPOILED BY RAW

SEWAGE

Dana Point, CA-Although cloudy skies have given way to a few days of bright sunshine, Doheny State Beach is still feelings the effects attributed to El Nino driven storms that pounded the area two weeks ago. Doheny State Beach has been closed since a Feb. 24 sewage spill that caused 3 million gallons of raw sewage to flow into the waters by way of San Juan Creek, says Larry Honeybourne, program chief of the water quality section of the Orange County Environmental Health Division.

Also, debris that has washed ashore led organizers to cancel the March 14 Grunion Night. "Due to conditions of the beach, we don't think the grunion will come up," said Edie Carhart, Doheny State Beach Interpretive Specialist. The anchovy-like grunion choose spring nights to lay their eggs on the beach. They choose high tide so the eggs stay buried in the sand. Once hatched, the baby grunion make their way back to the ocean. But before any egg-laying is done, the fish send up a scout to detect any suspicious disturbances, Carhart said. If it looks like they won't have room to work, they won't come up on the beach. (Although it seems unrelated to bring up the failed grunion run after reporting on such a massive sewage spill as 3 MILLION GALLONS, the polluting of the environment amounts to soiling one's own nest. In the end, if there is no conscious and deliberate approach to environmental issues, the environment in which we all live will no longer be able to sustain life. DPO Editor)

Orange County Environmental Health official Honeybourne said beach waters may be open by weeks end, but bacteria levels in the water are still high. Beach officials say they are not citing anyone for entering the water.

SOURCE: Reprinted from the Dana Point News, 12 March, 1998 issue. Reprinted in the public interest.


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