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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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