La Jolla Shores will see less pollutant run-off thanks to a $3.6 million state grant to keep the waters clean.
The State Water Resources Control Board allotted the $3.6 million to the La Jolla Shores ASBS Dry Weather Flow and Pollution Control Program on June 21.
The ocean surrounding the shores is designated an “area of special biological significance (ASBS),” which prohibits any discharge into the water.
More than two-thirds of the grant will help the Scripps Institution of Oceanography manage its storm water and dry weather flows into the ocean. The campus has created a list of approximately 70 projects that will eliminate dry weather flow and better control storm water flow.
Scripps plans to direct its dry weather flow ” from activities like irrigation and power washing ” to large holding tanks for disposal into the sewage system. The institution will also create catch basins to capture pollutants when washing down boats and equipment.
Another project will build dikes around the rose garden to prevent fertilized soil from running into the ocean.
“This is a problem that exists throughout the state,” said Tom Collins, Scripps spokesman. “The city has a problem and so on. Our portion will be to do those structural best-management practices.”
The La Jolla Shores grant will be divided into $2.7 million to Scripps, $700,000 to the City of San Diego and $200,000 to San Diego CoastKeepers.
The $3.6 million funding is part of $10 million in grants that the resources control board had slated for Ocean Protection Projects. The Shores program received the largest grant, followed by $3 million to implement a statewide epidemiology study to assess swimmer health risk from non-point sources of bacteria.
More than 45 applicants submitted concept proposals and 14 were invited to present full proposals for a slice of the $10 million; only five projects received funding.
The $10 million for Ocean Protection Projects derives from Prop 50, in which the state borrowed $3.4 billion for various water projects, including coastal protection, the CALFED Bay-Delta Program, integrated regional water management, safe drinking water and water quality. Prop 50 passed in 2002 with 55 percent of the vote.
The State Water Board, California Coastal Commission, State Coastal Conservancy and Department of Fish and Game selected the five projects.