It happens so regularly during the winter months that it’s largely accepted as standard practice: when it rains, Southern California’s beaches are inundated with raw sewage and other toxic runoff from an inundated sewer system that cannot handle large volumes of water. After one of the wettest Decembers on record, beaches in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura counties have been closed to the public for weeks because of repeated sewage spills and, with more rain on the way before the new year, beaches won’t be suitable for people anytime soon. Are the sewage systems in the area so antiquated and the region in general so ill prepared for big storms, that raw sewage on our beaches is just an accepted part of doing business in Southern California? How bad is the problem and what kind of resources would it take to update our storm runoff capabilities?
Guest:
Rick Wilson, coastal management coordinator for the Surfriders Foundation