New Drainage System to Improve Ocean Water Quality

The city of Redondo Beach will begin using a new environment friendly, low-cost storm water system that will improve water quality along the Redondo Beach shoreline. The Sapphire Storm Drain Low Flow Diversion Project, built at a cost of about $700,000, will be inaugurated July 13.

The project's 144-acre watershed area will collect the water, which will drain into the ground in the south part of Veterans Park and the area adjacent to the Sapphire Storm Drain outlet. This new system will mean that no discharge will go into the ocean.

Principal Civil Engineer Mike Shay said the State Water Resources Control Board provided about $202,000 for the project. The rest was funded through the city's Capital Improvements Fund and Storm Water Improvement fund. All facilities of the project are located underground

Traditionally, dry weather flow--water derived from irrigation and from activities like washing cars--is pumped into the sewer system. But that has two drawbacks.

"The capacity of the sewer system is limited, so we can discharge water only at certain times of the day," Shay said. "That requires a lot more capacity to store water, and we don't have a lot of storage."

Then there are the costs.

"Charges are levied on a per gallon basis for discharging water into the sewer system because the water needs to be treated before it can be discharged into the ocean," said Shay. "Since this new project does not pump water into the sewer system, it saves us a lot of money."

The city will need to pay only a one-time charge, which will eliminate ongoing charges. 

Because the storm drain will not discharge runoff into the ocean, it will boost compliance with the Santa Monica Bay Beaches Bacterial Total Maximum Daily Load "dry weather" regulations. In addition to improving water quality, the runoff will be used to irrigate plants. "Before it actually goes into the ground, the water goes through a system that irrigates a couple of bushes, which will grow up to be trees, about 15 ft. high," said Shay. 

The project, which started in November, was completed this month. Planning for it began about three years ago.

"We had some problems in locating the actual site for the facilities, so the planning process was quite lengthy," said Shay. "Residents were concerned that the facility would affect the buildings in the vicinity, and the county had objections about infiltrating the water in the sand on the beach." Veterans Park was chosen for the system because it has no structures and it's on city property. 

The inauguration ceremony will be held at Veterans Park, 309 Esplanade, Redondo Beach, at the George Freeth Way entrance to the park's south parking lot on July 13 at 4 p.m.