Ocean Beach residents can make a statement support for cleaner water and show some love for their community this weekend at the Paddle for Clean Water Festival. The 18th annual Surfrider San Diego event will be held in OB on Sunday, Sept. 13 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. “We have great support all throughout San Diego as a grassroots organization, so it’s really a chance for people to come out, celebrate Surfider and have fun while trying to raise awareness for clean water,” said Surfrider spokesman Bill Hickman. Last year, 1,000 people paddled around the OB Pier and Hickman said he expects about 1,500 paddlers this year. All kinds of paddlecraft are welcome to join the paddle to promote awareness of water issues. “It’s really a chance for everyone to get together and let the media and policymakers know that clean water is important in San Diego and beyond,” Hickman said. This year’s paddle is focused around two themes – “No B.S.” and “Know Your H20.” Both themes relate to water issues in the San Diego area. “No B.S.” — an abbreviation for no border sewage — is a coalition designed to clean up waters around the U.S.-Mexico border, including the Tijuana River alley and south county beaches. Surfider is teaming up with local community groups to solve these pollution problems created by untreated sewage and runoff from Mexican factories. “We’re trying to raise awareness about how big a pollution issue it is,” Hickman said. “This is one of the biggest pollution issues in San Diego County and for a long time it hasn’t received the attention that it deserves. It’s unique because it’s a third-world pollution problem in a first-world country.” “Know Your H20” deals with water-supply issues. Hickman said it is designed to raise awareness about the issues that can affect fresh water. “We’re pretty much in a drought situation here in southern California and we can do things to expand our water portfolio, like recycling more wastewater before we turn to things like ocean desalinization,” Hickman said. The festival begins with a light breakfast at 9 a.m. followed promptly at 10 a.m. by the paddle. After the paddle around the pier, the festival continues with activities and attractions, including awareness booths, free massages, surf lessons and surfboard demonstrations, local artists, a beach cleanup, a beer garden and a raffle from Holeman Surf Designs until 5 p.m. Local vendors Roots Kind Food and Peace Pies will serve lunch. The fare will consist of different types of raw, vegetarian and vegan food. “It’s tying into the clean-water theme,” Hickman said. “Having some food that helps keep the water clean.” Five bands will play at the festival, headlined by Iration, a reggae band from Hawaii. Each of the other four bands — The Professors, Pullman Standard, C Money and the Players Inc. and Tribal Seeds — is from Ocean Beach or San Diego at large. District 2 City Council representative Kevin Faulconer will kick the festivities off in the morning. District 6 City Councilwoman Donna Frye and Councilman Jim King, who represents Imperial Beach, will also appear at the festival. Participants are encouraged to start the festival on the right foot by bringing items intended for discard that can be recycled. Hickman said all recycling helps efforts for clean water. “People can bring energy bar wrappers, old surfboards, old flip-flops to recycle,” Hickman said. “If people have those lying around, this is a chance to recycle it rather than send those things to the landfill, where they often end up.” For more information, visit paddle4cleanwater.blogspot.com. The San Diego Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is online at www.surfridersd.org.