JMPR Monterey Bay Issues: Water Quality - Beach Closures and Coliform Contamination

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Monterey Bay Issue Name: Water Quality – Beach Closures and Coliform Contamination

The central coast of California is internationally known for its incomparable shoreline.=Travelers come from around the world to enjoy outstanding recreational opportunities including surfing, diving and kayaking; to view the spectacular coastal scenery; to observe wildlife resources such as sea otters, whales, and seabirds; and to enjoy the seemingly pristine beauty of the ocean. In 1992, public concern over the conservation of this exceptional resource led Congress to designate the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary for its ecological significance and singular beauty. Since this designation, runoff and spills along the Sanctuary’s coastline have periodically resulted in high levels of coliform bacteria being detected in coastal waters, which has caused an increasing number of beaches closures or postings. These problems have many causes, including an aging sewer infrastructure system pressed to meet increasing demands, and inadequate resources available for comprehensive infrastructure diagnosis, maintenance and replacement. Additional contributing factors include illicit storm drain connections, improper disposal of materials which clog pipes, overflow of systems during storm seasons, leaching from septic systems, urban runoff, and various domestic and wildlife sources. More...

Documents:
Issue Summary
	See the Proposed Action Plans
Draft Action Plan
	Beach Closure Draft Action Plan (pdf 3.8M)
Working Group Roles and Responsibilities
	Roles and Responsibilities (pdf 24K)
	Consensus Based Decision Making (pdf 24K)
Meeting Preparation
	WQ Scoping Comments (pdf 264K)

Additional Information
	JMPR Documents

Working Group Participants:
*~Working Group Contact~*
Name	Affiliation	Email	Phone
Chris Coburn	MBNMS	chris.coburn@noaa.gov	831-420-1670
~Sanctuary Advisory Council Members (SAC) *& Other Stakeholders ~*
Name	Affiliation	Email
Kaitilin Gaffney	MBNMS SAC, Conservation	kgaffney@psinet.com
Craig J. Wilson	MBNMS SAC, SWRCB	wilscj@dwq.swrcb.ca.gov
Ross Clark	CA Coastal Commission	Rclark@coastal.ca.gov
Jim Cullem	Carmel Public Works	jcullem@ci.carmel.ca.us
Jim Finney	Monterey County Environmental Health	finneyj@co.monterey.ca.us
Jo Fleming	Santa Cruz County Public Works	dpw130@co.santa-cruz.ca.us
Jennifer Gonzalez	City of Monterey	jgonzale@ci.monterey.ca.us
Bob Jaques	MRWPCA	bobj@mrwpca.com
Alison Jones	RWQCB #3	ajones@rb3.swrcb.ca.gov
Robert Ketley	City of Watsonville	rketley@ci.watsonville.ca.us
Steve Leiker	City of Pacific Grove	sleiker@ci.pacific-grove.ca.us
Cheryl McGovern	EPA	mcgovern.cheryl@epamail.epa.gov
Terri Nevins	California Coastal Conservancy	tenevins@scc.ca.gov
Mike Niccum	Pebble Beach CSD	mniccum@pbcsd.org
Linda O'Connell	SRWQCB	o'col@dwq.swrcb.ca.gov
Fleur O'Neill	Save Our Shores	foneill@saveourshores.org
Dean Peterson	San Matero County	dpeterson@co.sanmateo.ca.us
Barbara Pierson	City of Watsonville	bpierson@ci.watsonville.ca.us
Ann Powell	RWQCB #2	amp@rb2.swrcb.ca.gov
John Ricker	Santa Cruz County Environmental Health	john.ricker@co.santa-cruz.ca.us
Eric Russell	Surfrider Foundation	keepoceansblue@hotmail.com
Tom Reeves	City of Monterey	reeves@ci.monterey.ca.us
Mark Scheiter	WWTP Carmel	scheiter@cawd.org
Dan Whatley	City of Santa Cruz	dwhatley@ci.santa-cruz.ca.us
Karen Worcester	RWQCB #3	kworcest@rb3.swrcb.ca.gov
~MBNMS Staff ~
Name	Affiliation	Email	Phone
Lisa Emanuelson	MBNMS	lisa.emanuelson@noaa.gov	831-647-4201
Bridget Hoover	MBNMS/WQ Monitoring Network	bhoover@monitoringnetwork.org	831-883-9303
Katie Siegler	MBNMS	katie.siegler@noaa.gov	831-647-4219
Holly Price	MBNMS	holly.price@noaa.gov	831-647-4247

Working Group Timeline:
Start: January, 2003
Date	Time	Location	Documents
February 21	1-5pm	MBNMS Main Office
March 14	1-5pm	MBNMS Main Office
April 11	1-5pm	MBNMS Main Office	Moss Landing Harbor District
Complete: April, 2003

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