Getting Back in the Swim of Things : With Pollution Under Control, the Ocean at Baby Beach to Reopen

DANA POINT — Baby Beach, closed last summer because of contamination, probably will reopen next week, and county health officials think they’ve found the cause of the pollution.

Blame it on the birds and the storm drains--maybe.

The county has conducted extensive investigations into the cause of the contamination and discovered only that the source is not leaks in sewage lines. In recent weeks, after the county closed two storm drains that carried water with hazardous bacteria levels into the ocean near the popular Baby Beach, the count dropped to safe levels, according to Larry Honeybourne, chief of the county Health Care Agency’s water quality section.

The county checked the sewer lines and nearby public bathrooms for leaks; inspected the bilge pumps of the old ship Pilgrim, docked nearby; tested the water off the harbor restaurants, stopped the watering and fertilization of the lawns in the nearby park and plugged the storm drains on the cliffs across from the park.

Three months after closing the drains, levels of contamination started to decline. Because of the recent drizzle, the drains had to be opened, and the bacterial levels started to rise, Honeybourne said. This delayed the county’s decision to reopen the beach, he said, but indicates the storm drains might be a strong contributor to the contamination.

Stanley Cummings, executive director of the nearby Orange County Marine Institute, said pigeons and gulls also have contributed to the contamination of the shallow waters of Baby Beach. The population has increased from 50 birds in 1980 to several hundred, Cummings said.

“The problem is that the birds are fed,” Cummings said. “If the natural pigeon population was left to itself, we may not be facing the growth in their population.”

He has upset many bird sympathizers by trying to persuade them to stop feeding the birds. “What they don’t realize is that it is not good for the birds or the environment.”

A brown sign in the parking lot near the beach reads “Please do not feed the birds. Feeding creates a dependent population, a potential health hazard.”

Still, Cummings says he watches daily as people scatter pounds of bird feed at the parking lot near the beach and the pier.

Kelly Lewis, a biology instructor at the marine institute, says the source of bacterial contamination is the water itself. “We have a body of water that is stagnant and we are in an overpopulated area,” she said.

Regardless, the county is trying to cut the bird population. The three tallest trees, where they nest, were chopped down last year, and netting is being placed to prevent the gulls and pigeons from roosting beneath the pier, Honeybourne said.

The county has exhausted all other possible sources of bacterial contamination of the beach’s waters, said Supervisor Thomas W. Wilson.

“All we know is that they are acceptable levels, and the water appears to be safe,” he said. “We are going to open the beach and monitor the heck out of the area.”

Honeybourne said the Health Care Agency will continue to check bacteria levels at seven sites twice a week. If the levels remain safe, the beach will open early next week.

Although the ocean has been off-limits since August, people have continued to use the beach. The shops nearby have continued to do brisk business.

Sandy Stevens, who brought her daughter to Baby Beach on Friday, said she will still be wary of allowing her into the ocean once it reopens. “Would you if you had a 4-year-old, and if you were pregnant?” she said.

Stevens said she ignores the do-not-feed-the-birds sign. “Oh well, I don’t really care.”