Beach Water Monitoring SOS in San Diego County

Press Release

• September 26 2008
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OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE - As you may have already heard, after the state budget was passed the governor used a line item veto to eliminate all state funded beach water monitoring between April 1 and October 31 each year.   Between 1999 and this year, the County of San Diego, Department of Environmental Health received $300,000 per year to collect 63 samples per week from San Onofre to the U.S. / Mexico border and make associated public notifications to protect public health when monitoring data indicated contamination. DEH also coordinates the notification, investigation, and sampling for sewage spills that impact beach water quality.  As of now, the County DEH will suspend all routine water monitoring after today.  Continued water testing is important to public health and important to help assess environmental health.

What can you do to help?

1) Contact your County Supervisor.  If a decent ocean water monitoring and public notification program is important to you or your friends please take the time to contact your County of San Diego Supervisor and let them know.

Please be polite and let them know you want the Department of Environmental Health Ocean Recreational Water Program funded to pay for a minimum of two staff persons (about $300,000 with most of this paying for sample analysis).

The Supervisors are:

Greg Cox, District 1.Imperial Beach north to Pacific Beach, Chula Vista, National City .  619-531-5511.    greg.cox@sdcounty.ca.gov

Dianne Jacob, District 2. Spring Valley and areas east. (619) 531-5522    dianne.jacob@sdcounty.ca.gov

Pam Slater-Price, District 3.   La Jolla north to Encinitas, Tierrasanta, Carmel Valley, Rancho Bernardo, and Escondido. (619) 531-5533   Pam.slater@sdcounty.ca.gov
Ron Roberts, District 4.  University City south to Paradise Hills, incld Misión Valley , and east to College Area.  (619) 531-5544    Ron.Roberts@sdcounty.ca.gov

Bill Horn, District 5.  Carlsbad and Oceanside north to OC, and east to Borrego Springs. (619) 531-5555.    bill.horn@sdcounty.ca.gov

2) Contact the Governor  to let him know that water monitoring is important for both public health and environmental health and that it was a bad decision to eliminate state funded water monitoring.

3) Forward this email on to your family and friends.

Click Here for more info from a recent U-T story by Terry Rodgers.

Click Here  to check out beach water quality in San Diego County and data that the DEH water monitoring program provides.
Clean water?  Dirty water?  DIRTY POLITICS!

Special film screening of CHINATOWN on Fri. 9/26 in Balboa Park

What’s the buzz on water?  Where does it come from, who owns it, why do people waste it?

Come relax with your friends at Surfrider in the Santa Fe Room at Balboa Park on FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 26th from 6 - 8:30 pm to view the movie CHINATOWN, learn about the POLITICS OF WATER in the west, where it all comes from, why its so scarce, and WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT!!! No charge for the event.

Directions & Parking
- Take Hwy 163 south to Park Blvd, go left at the stop light then left onto President’s Way, which is the next stop light. Continue to the stop sign where you can go straight to park in the Pan American Plaza parking lot or make a right and park in the Organ Pavilion lot.
- The Balboa Park Club is located in the South Palisades area of Balboa Park, just north of the Puppet Theatre.
- More parking is available in the adjacent lots that are located behind the Hall of Champions and the Starlight Bowl or you can take the Balboa Park Tram.
- Be sure to check out MTS for public transport options, www.sdcommute.com
Email jared@surfriderSD.org  with any questions.

More Upcoming Events:
The Future of Surfing, an eco-friendly event in Solana Beach on Sat. 9/27

The day begins at 11 am.  Two local bands, Windsor and Billy Midnight, will fill the air with acoustic, blues and rock and roll.  Rudy’s will start barbecuing carne asada.  The first 50 people who donate a rideable surfboard will receive a Biofoam blank, courtesy of Homeblown US.  Wade Koniakowsky will paint on many of the boards, and they will be priced to sell.  There will be some great deals, and all of the proceeds go to setting up scholarships for the Solana Beach Junior Lifeguard Program.  You can also bring a beat up board to be recycled, and learn how this process works.

Wander around the park and talk with shapers who use Biofoam, companies who make boardbags out of hemp, surf museum and gallery owners and many other leaders who are innovating ways to create local, positive change.  Check out www.ReReip.com for more details.

One Track Mind Premieres at Patagonia Cardiff This Saturday 9/27!

Shot on location in Mexico, Indonesia, Micronesia, Australia and Southern California, One Track Mind explores the mindset behind what it takes to be one of the best surfers in the world. The cast includes today’s best up-and-comers, including Jordy Smith, Kalohe Andino and Julian Wilson, and state-of-the-art talents like Mick Fanning, Dane Reynolds, Joel Parkinson, Jamie O’Brien, Fred Pataccia and CJ Hobgood, as well as veterans Kelly Slater, Sunny Garcia, Mark Occhilupo, Wayne Bartholomew and Tom Curren.

7:30 and 8:45 at Patagonia Cardiff.