Heal the Ocean Wastewater Discharge Inventory for the State of California (WDI)
A report accompanied by interactive mapping to tally all wastewater discharged into the Pacific Ocean by the State of California, from the Oregon border to San Diego/Tijuana. Includes permits, amounts, and types of discharge, and discussion of recycled water as a means of conserving water and preventing ocean pollution. An interactive website constructed by David Greenberg, PhD, of the Marine Science Institute, UCSB, shows latitude & longitude of outfalls, outfall relationship to 303(d) impaired beaches, areas of special biological significance, and marine sanctuaries.
Shallow Ocean Wastewater Outfall Source Tracking (Montecito Sanitary District)
Funded by a $330,000 Proposition 50 State grant, this HTO study was conducted by oceanographers and microbiologists at the University of California, Santa Barbara. It features tracking and analysis of a treated effluent plume from a short, shallow wastewater outfall close to a popular beach in Montecito, Santa Barbara County. Features computer animation maps created by Institute for Computational Earth System Science oceanographers tracking the plume every week from November 2007 to November 2008, together with progress reports filed with the State. Final report, in December 2009, will evaluate potential risks to human and environmental health from a shallow ocean sewer outfall.
USGS Report Sources of Fecal Indicator Bacteria in Urban Streams and Ocean Beaches, Santa Barbara, California
J.A. Izbicki et al., contributory funding by Heal the Ocean. Performed in conjunction with the City of Santa Barbara, this study is one of the first serious examinations of the relationship between groundwater contamination and the ocean, the potential for sewer pipes to leak into groundwater and therefore the ocean, and the relationship of groundwater to Mission Creek, which runs through Santa Barbara’s urban area. The report, currently in proof form, has been accepted for publication in Annals of Environmental Science.
