While plants and vegetation in Long Beach reap the benefits of the recent rainfall, one downfall to the downpours emerges: stormwater polluting oceans.
As the rain gushes through gutters, storm drains and rivers, the pollutants it picks up contaminates the Pacific Ocean, prompting rain advisories, beach closures and debris washing up on shores.
The Long Beach chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit that works to keep oceans and beaches clean, has a solution that starts in local yards. Their Ocean Friendly Gardens Program is a low-cost, simple approach that can reduce stormwater runoff by 90% and drastically improve beach cleanliness.
Long Beach Recreation, Parks, and Marine Public Information Officer Jane Grobaty said the City is expected to spend $1.5 million this year keeping beaches and shores clean due to increased rainfall and the after-effects of Hurricane Kay in 2022. Usually, this number is closer to $1 million a year, Grobaty told the Signal Tribune.
A study by Washington State University found that for every one inch of rain over 100 square feet of roof surface, 62 gallons of runoff is generated. Most of this goes down drains and into the ocean through a 48-mile drainage channel system in Long Beach that terminates in the LA River and Pacific ocean.
According to the Los Angeles Public Works Department the estuary, or end, of the river is in Long Beach where it enters the Pacific Ocean. The Los Angeles River Revitalization organization states that on average 207 million gallons of water gets dumped into the Pacific Ocean from the river each day.
“Whatever gets in the LA River will eventually make its way down to our ocean here in Long Beach,” said Long Beach Environmental Health Program Supervisor Keith Allen.
Allen is part of the team that tests Long Beach’s ocean water at least once a week to see if the water meets the state’s standards for bacteria.
Beach watch conditions have four levels:
- Open: bacteria levels are within state standards
- Advisory: bacteria levels test higher than state levels. Contact with ocean water should be avoided.
- Rain Advisory: there is more than a 10th of an inch of rainfall. Calls for a three-day advisory where residents are told to avoid contact with the ocean water.
- Closed: significant health risk.
So far in 2023, 20 rain advisories and seven general advisories have been issued, and beaches in Long Beach have been closed eight times, according to reports from the Long Beach Bureau of Environmental Health.
Rain advisories are issued because even a 10th of an inch of rainfall causes “high levels of bacteria from storm drains, rivers, and polluted runoff” to enter Long Beach’s oceans, according to the Bureau of Environmental Health.
By May 2023 Long Beach had registered 20.73 inches of rain, nearly double the city’s average annual rainfall of 12 inches, according to the Los Angeles Almanac.
Grobaty said that Long Beach places ocean booms and skimmers, plastic floating devices, to try and keep debris from reaching its shores. Beach maintenance crews also rake and clean the beaches to clear trash and litter five days a week during the winter and six days a week during the summer.
The Surfrider Foundation has found that water runoff is the number one source of ocean pollution.
Surfrider’s Ocean Friendly Gardens can help keep 90% of rainwater runoff from reaching the ocean, and they have helped create at least 10 in the city already. Through workshops and walking tours they’ve taught residents how to install soaking soil, native plants, water-conserving mulch, rain gardens and more.
Grobaty said that Long Beach currently has no city-established Ocean Friendly Gardens in place, but an already existing Long Beach program, Lawn to Gardens, can add these components to both conserve water and help mitigate ocean pollution.
Ocean Friendly Garden leader and landscape expert Kai Craig helped the city implement rainwater retention options to the Lawn to Garden program.
The Long Beach Lawn to Garden program helps residents transform their grass lawn into a drought-resistant landscape, but residents must pay out of pocket and then apply for rebates up to $1,500 to get their money back for the work done.
Lawn-to-garden conversions reduce rainwater runoff because a storm-water retention feature is included as part of the eight requirements needed to apply for the program. Participants can choose at least one feature such as a rain garden, a dry river bed, a downspout to divert rainwater or six inches of mulch and compost.
To receive a refund, participants must own their property, use a city-certified landscape professional and follow other requirements. Long Beach Utilities Public Information Officer Lauren Gold Howland said that the city completes around 120 Lawn to Garden projects a year.
A pilot program in Illinois installed similar Rainwater Gardens in 17 homes to prevent pollution in Crystal Lake and saw significant results. The project was funded by the city of Burnsville and pushed through with grants from the local Metropolitan Council in the area.
The program included a dip in curbs that allowed rainwater to drain directly into gardens before reaching drains. The city-hired contractor also taught homeowners how to maintain the gardens.
Benefits of the rainwater garden neighborhood included:
- 93% reduction of stormwater runoff into drains
- Stormwater quality improved
- Easy maintenance and upkeep for homeowners
If even half of the Lawn to Garden projects installed a year were converted to Ocean Friendly Gardens, Long Beach could do the same.
An ocean friendly garden made by the Surfrider Foundation and volunteers during a workshop in Dec. 2023. (Courtesy of Surfrider Foundation)
The Surfrider Foundation wants to make ocean friendly gardens attainable for every resident at a low cost.
“We want to give people the kind of tools to make these positive changes on their own,” said Kathryn Dressendorfer, Surfrider’s Southern California’s Ocean Friendly Gardens Coordinator. “Everyone really has an opportunity to make a positive impact on reducing runoff throughout the watershed because it all ultimately leads to the ocean.”
Dressendorfer said that most of these gardens can be completed in a month or two, but residents can also go step-by-step by installing a small rain garden or other water retention features at their own pace.
The Surfrider Foundation plans to host an Ocean Friendly Garden Workday on May 20 at Willow Springs Park where volunteers can learn about this nature-based solution to pollution and help install native plants.
Volunteers can sign up for the workshop and learn how to create their own Ocean Friendly Garden at longbeach.surfrider.org/volunteer.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article on ocean-friendly gardens and their role in tackling pollution. Your explanation of the concept and its benefits was both informative and inspiring. I appreciate how you highlighted the connection between conventional gardening practices and the negative impact they can have on water quality and marine ecosystems. The practical tips and strategies you provided for creating an ocean-friendly garden were particularly helpful, from selecting native plants to implementing rainwater harvesting and using natural pest control methods. It’s encouraging to see how small changes in our gardening practices can make a significant difference in preserving our oceans and protecting aquatic life. Your article not only raises awareness about the issue but also empowers readers to take action and make a positive impact on the environment. Keep up the great work in promoting sustainable and eco-friendly practices for a cleaner and healthier planet!