Storm Litters Orange County Beaches With Garbage

SEAL BEACH, CA — The drenching downpours have filled the San Gabriel River, pushing trash, debris, and detritus out of the storm drains and into the ocean. The river mouth, for lack of a better phrase, vomits out the trash from 52 cities into the sea, and yes, it looks as disgusting as that sounds.

South of the San Gabriel River mouth, in Seal Beach, the water was strewn with trash, bottles, shopping carts, wrappers and more. Trash blanketed the shore, brought in on the tide. Concerned residents and visitors did what they could to help clean the mess.

"It's just a floating thing of trash," Pam Conti, an area teacher who participates in water-quality testing at Doheny State Beach told the Register. "It's so gross. Nobody wants to surf in that."

Residents who enjoy seeing the frothing waves during storms were horrified with the "chocolate milk" coloration of the water on Saturday, according to the Register's recent report.

The sight of the trash littering the shore was "horrifying," Conti said. "That's the only way I could explain it. It was phenomenally sad."

Save Our Beach and the Surfrider Foundation hold regularly scheduled beach clean ups.

Water quality for all of our beaches, including Newport, Huntington, and points further south in Laguna Beach, Dana Point, Capistrano Beach, Doheny State Beach, is poor, leading to beach advisories.

Ocean water experts from Orange County Health have issued a rain advisory in effect for the entire Orange County coastline.

"The Environmental Health staff advises swimmers and surfers that levels of bacteria can rise significantly in ocean and bay waters adjacent to storm drains, creeks, and rivers during and after rainstorms," they said.

It was not recommended to enter the ocean until 24-48 hours after the rain subsides.

Photo, courtesy Cari Garfield, Newport Beach