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Fall 1995 |
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Page 4 |
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Inside |
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Water Quality Protection Program |
pg. 4 |
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Federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX: U.S.Forest Service; U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service. California Coastal Commission, CA Dept. of Fish and Game, CA Dept. of Parks and Recreation, CA Environmental Protection Agency, CA Resources Agency, Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, State Water Resources Control Board, University of California Sea Grant Extension Program. Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner, Monterey County Planning and Building Inspection, San Luis Obispo County and Council of Governments, San Mateo County Planning, Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz Port District. Center for Marine Conservation, Elkhorn Slough Foundation, Monterey County Hospitality Association, Pacific Gas & Electric Company. |
A New Approach to Restoring and Protecting Sanctuary Resources
There's encouraging news about the 5300 square miles of water that make up the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary: the water quality is generally good compared to many other regions of the country &emdash; that's part of the reason this area was named a Sanctuary. Furthermore, an innovative Water Quality Protection Program (WQPP) is being developed for the Sanctuary with the help of members of the public and interested agencies (see box below). The goal of the WQPP is to enhance and protect the Sanctuary's chemical, physical, and biological integrity by improving the quality of the water that flows into it from its surrounding watersheds (see sidebar).
According to Dr. Holly Price, Director of the WQPP at the Sanctuary, "As part of the Sanctuary designation, there was a Memorandum of Agreement signed among federal, state and local agencies to develop a comprehensive water quality management plan...One of the main things we want to avoid is creating another layer of bureaucracy on top of what we already have; this area has over 150 existing federal, state, and local programs that deal with some component of water quality in the Sanctuary and its watersheds. We're trying to find ways to better coordinate those agencies and programs, to direct them to Sanctuary problems and get them working together more effectively. Trying to develop a consensus of all these people over a huge geographic area is really a new approach."
Kip Evans, Education Outreach Specialist at MBNMS, explains, "In addition to working with all the government agencies, the program relies heavily on input from public interest groups, the business community, the agricultural sector, educators, and environmental groups to help us develop effective, feasible solutions to water quality problems."
Working with the region's water quality experts, the WQPP has identified and gathered information on five main issues affecting Sanctuary water quality: urban runoff; marinas and boating activities; agricultural sources; water management practices; and point sources. "Right now we're developing recommendations and strategies that we can put in place to address these issues," said Holly Price. Strategies include pooling agency resources to address common goals, public education, technical assistance, conservation incentives like cost sharing, and other measures.
The WQPP is tackling these five main pollution issues one by one, beginning with urban runoff. Because cities have a lot of paved surfaces like parking lots and rooftops, water collects and runs off quickly. This rainwater flushes out many kinds of pollutants that have accumulated on the ground during dry weather &emdash; oil, grease, fertilizers, pesticides, pet droppings and metal particles from cars. Storm drains, the main receptacles for urban runoff, carry these pollutants to streams or to the ocean without any treatment. This untreated runoff can pose health risks to human beings and wildlife.
The WQPP has developed a variety of strategies for dealing with urban runoff, including education and outreach; technical training programs for municipal staff, contractors, and businesses; inspection of storm drain systems; development of regional partnerships for stormwater management; coordination of monitoring activities within the Sanctuary and its watersheds; and establishment of an interagency pollution database.
According to Holly Price,"We're trying to develop a
long-term, proactive program which will address the hot
spots we do have and prevent the crisis situations that have
developed elsewhere in the country. The involvement of this
region's government agencies, business leaders, teachers,
scientists, and community members is vital to achieving
long-term protection of the Sanctuary and its watersheds."
You can help design the Water Quality Protection Program by attending meetings and commenting on WQPP's development. For more information on the WQPP contact the Sanctuary office at (408) 647-4201.
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Last modified on: June 14,
1999