Rainy Season Is Upon Us- And Now A Few Words From Our Sponsor!

Hello Everyone and welcome to TK’s blog.

The Fall/ Winter rainy season has begun in earnest with the storm totals from our first rain  “event” being all over the map, so to speak.  North county residents collected the most rain with San Onofre picking up over 2 inches of rain while Lindbergh Field measured a little over an inch.  San Diego beach areas averaged about an inch and a half of precipitation which is pretty heavy in terms of runoff pollution pouring off the streets and  into storm drains which, as we all know, empty out onto the beaches and into the ocean.

Now for the numbers and statistics and some of the causes of stormwater pollution.  Please pay attention Boy’s and Girl’s, there will be a short quiz at the conclusion of today’s lecture.   I’m not intending for this blog to be all about the bad news and chronicle just doom and gloom regarding coastal water quality issues.  In fact, I am going to really try tocreate a balance between both what issues we need to be aware of and how to deal with them and the people and places that are making a difference and improving our quality of life both on the beaches and in the ocean.

I recently uncovered a startling and really scary bit of information which needs to be addressed and rectified by our neighbor to the north; Los Angeles.  A new study has shown that the Los Angeles River, the long, wide, concrete structure that winds its way all the way through the city from the San Gabriel Mountains to the east all the way to the ocean.  You’ve probably seen it in lots of movies where they film scenes of cars with cops and robbers chasing and shooting at  each other while they drive all over and up and down the concrete embankments, you know what I mean. Yeah, that one!  Well, it seems that the LA river alone contributes 1% of all the world petroleum hydrocarbon input. What that means is that the oil and petroleum products that drip from millions of cars (in just a portion of LA) ends up in the river and along with all the other materials that wash off the streets and structures and mixes and churns into God only knows what kind of toxic soup that runs unabated to the ocean.

Now 1% of anything might not seem like much to anyone but when you consider that of all the world petroleum residue crap in the world that ends up on the ground and washes into one friggin’ river in one giant city, it’s not a pretty scenario, especially for creatures that inhabit the coastal waters and those of us who recreate in and eat the fish from those waters.

While I’m rolling along here I might as well add some more colorful tidbits of information for you to share around the water cooler or out in the lineup at you favorite surfing areas.  Gosh, I just get so darn inspired when the rains come!

13% of ALL the rivers in the United States, 18% of ALL the lakes, and a whopping 32% of ALL the estuaries are made unsafe for swimming, surfing, or fishing, thanks to stormwater, the #1 leading source of water pollution.

75% of the toxic chemicals that are dumped onto our beaches and into our oceans is carried there by stormwater that slicks our paved roads, pours from our rooftops, yards,gardens, etc.

Lead, zinc, chromium, manganese,nickel, and cadmium are the most common metals found in stormwater runoff polluting our beaches, waterways, and oceans.

Brake linings, tires, and gunk from our engines and vehicles;  pesticides from our lawns and gardens, PCB’s,  petroleum hydrocarbons that drip off our roadways.  Oil stain by oil stain; drip by drip, drop by drop; it all adds up! We all contribute to this mess, all of us.  it’s not going to go away any time soon and it’s the winter rains that  are washing all of of our stuff into our oceans.  It’s everything I mentioned and so much more that blend together and commingle and it’s creating cancers and diseases that haven’t even been identified yet, let alone named.

Until we can get our cities and municipalities to begin to use permeable materials on our streets and roadways.  Until we can create some filtration for the runoff to pass through.  Until we can make even minor changes and adjustments individually and collectively as a society’ or in our own tribes. There are so many things we can all do; Information is everywhere if you just take a few minutes to check it out.  Things like rain barrels to collect the water off your rooftops to water your gardens later on.   Think about something other than a lawn in your yard; especially if you live in a desert climate like here in San Diego. create a garden of plants native to your area.  If everyone just thought of ten things they could change in their day-to-day existence.  C’mon, quit buying cases of water bottles-get a water filter.  Use your own cup when you go to your coffee shop in the morning.  Bring your own bags to the market and grocery store.

We can’t keep throwing our hands up or shrugging and repeating “Well, what can I do?”  There’s plenty we can do and until we all change our minds and our habits nothing will change; it’s just going to get worse.

Here’s one more for today’s lesson:  The eastern pacific gyre of plastic has been proven to be twice the size of Texas and estimated to weigh 3.5 million tons.  I can’t even imagine what 3.5 million tons of anything is, but you know it can’t be good.  Oh well, whatryagonnado? Think about it.  Please?

Thanks for checking in and please feel free to comment.

Tim Kessler