Water Quality

Andrew Edwards Garry Brown, executive director of Orange County Coastkeeper, has resigned his post as a part-time consultant for a Newport Beach lobbying firm following accusations by other activists that he played both sides of the fence. Brown said his decision to quit Newport Beach-based Iger & Associates, which represents businesses in their dealings with environmental regulators, was based on an agreement he made with Coastkeeper's board of directors to leave the firm if any controversy developed.

Weather forecast Patchy fog and partly cloudy skies this morning should clear by the afternoon. High temperatures will be in the low 70s, and light winds are expected. Information: www.nws.noaa.gov Boating Forecast On inner waters today, there should be a light westerly, with wind waves of 2 feet or less and patchy fog in the morning. Tonight, expect variable winds at 10 knots or less, with wind waves of about 2 feet on a west swell of 4 to 6 feet at 14 seconds.

Weather forecast Expect mostly sunny skies with high temperatures from 68 to 75 and light winds. Tonight, it will be partly cloudy with lows from 42 to 49 and light winds. Information: www.nws.noaa.gov Boating Forecast On inner waters, winds will be northwesterly at 10 knots in the morning, becoming variable at 10 knots or less, creating wind waves of 2 feet or less on a west swell of 3 to 5 feet at 11 seconds. Tonight, winds will be northerly at 10 to 15 knots, making wind waves of 2 feet or less on a west swell of 2 to 4 feet at 11 seconds.

Alicia Robinson Eleven stretches of sand and several parts of Newport Harbor had clean water this summer, but a bacteria hot spot -- the harbor at 38th Street -- was ranked among Orange County's worst beaches in a report from Heal the Bay. The 2004 summer beach report card, issued Thursday by the Santa Monica-based environmental group, measured bacteria levels during dry weather between Memorial Day and Labor Day....

Alicia Robinson Donning wetsuits, fins and in one case a bathing cap, a half-dozen members of Newport Beach's Coastal/Bay Water Quality Advisory Committee plunged into the ocean off Crystal Cove Thursday. Their mission was to check out a kelp-reforestation project undertaken by Orange County CoastKeeper, a Newport Beach water-quality watchdog group. The project, started in 2001, was intended to restore once-abundant kelp forests that have suffered from man-made hazards such as water pollution and also from natural predators.

Alicia Robinson Few cities are more diligent than Newport Beach when it comes to preventing water pollution, but that diligence sometimes ruffles the feathers of residents and business owners cited for violating water-quality rules. As part of its extensive water-quality enforcement program, the city issued close to 1,000 violation notices and citations between July 2003 and June 2004. Information from Orange County's Resources and Development Management Department showed that in the 2002-03 fiscal year, Newport Beach was responsible for 85% of water-quality enforcement actions county-wide.

Alicia Robinson A state plan describing how to make California's oceans cleaner and protect marine life is a good start, but more specific actions are needed, environmental activists told state Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Terry Tamminen on Friday. Activists asked for tools that identify the sources of bacteria and other water pollution, the establishment of marine protected areas, and more water conservation and reclamation instead of controversial desalination plants.

Alicia Robinson Local environmental activists are vehemently opposing a state proposal to eliminate 10 boards that regulate water, a plan they think will put California's water-quality programs on the rocks. The California Performance Review, a report commissioned by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to increase government efficiency and save about $32 billion, recommends axing the State Water Resources Control Board and nine regional water-quality control boards, whose members are governor-appointed.

What else could Newport do to combat or prevent water pollution? Well, the article about the city of Newport Beach being an active watchdog leader of water quality is great, and they deserve it ("Water-quality efforts equal best in the West," Friday). The big step to help Newport Beach's water quality comes from our neighbors and the County of Orange. San Diego Creek spews 9 million to 13 million gallons of urban runoff a day from its 112-square-mile watershed and tributaries.

Alicia Robinson Through a seemingly unlikely partnership, a major developer and an environmental watchdog created a plan that will do the nearly impossible: prevent a 168-unit resort from generating any more runoff than its now-vacant site does. The Irvine Co. and Orange County CoastKeeper have developed a water-reclamation plan that traps rainwater, pumps it to storage reservoirs and uses it in the irrigation system for the existing courses at Pelican Hill Golf Club.