A Deeper Look: San Diego Coastkeeper

There are a lot of threats to our water. Between climate change and pollution, the picture has never looked more bleak. But people are rising to the occasion and taking a stand for our most precious resource. One group doing that here in Southern California is San Diego Coastkeeper.

The name harkens back to 19th Century England, when landowners would hire Riverkeepers to keep watch over their private fishing streams. It came back into use in the 1960’s when a group of fishermen organized to protect the Hudson River from the pollution. It grew and spread to places around the world. Now there are over three hundred groups in the Waterkeeper Alliance.

The San Diego Baykeeper, established in 1995, fought toxic dumping in San Diego Bay. Over the years it grew to become what is now San Diego Coastkeeper. Now, the organization is involved in a variety of water related projects around the San Diego area that range from advocacy and litigation to scientific research and education.

It partnered with other local organizations to get the city of San Diego to build the region’s first ever water recycling plant. This project, which should be operational by 2035, will massively reduce the amount of waste water that ends up in the ocean. It is also estimated that it could cover a third of San Diego’s water needs, which would reduce the city’s dependence on imported water.

The organization also has a legal team that works to ensure that local groups are in compliance with the Clean Water Act. They have brought a number of suits against polluters and made them adopt practices that are safe for the community and environment. 

In 2021, Coastkeeper launched their BIPOC Youth Science Program, which is a paid internship that promotes diversity in the STEM fields. It gives students the opportunity to participate in research around the Chollas Creek Watershed, while learning skills that will prepare them for a career in science. They also have the opportunity to participate in outdoor recreational activities such as kayaking and rock climbing.

But the primary focus of San Diego Coastkeeper in recent years has been on stormwater pollution. This is the pollution that occurs when rainwater runs over urban surfaces and picks up toxic materials, like fertilizers, pesticides and oil on its way to the ocean. This pollution poses a threat to both the environment and humans. “People don’t realize that here in San Diego, when it rains, you should be avoiding any contact with Coastal waters, like the beach, for at least seventy-two hours because the water that runs off of our streets and into those storm drains doesn’t get filtered,” Alyssa Senturk, Coastkeeper’s Communications and Outreach Director, said.

There are a number of ways San Diego Coastkeeper has pushed for the city to create green infrastructure that will catch the runoff and filter it in natural ways. These include things like berms and rainwater gardens that will allow rainwater to sink into the ground, rather than running off into the ocean. 

They are also pushing for storm water capture. This would help prevent pollution, while also reducing the city’s dependency on imported water. Currently, San Diego gets almost all of its water from Northern California and the Colorado River, which requires a massive amount of energy. Studies estimate that stormwater capture could cover twenty-percent of the city’s water needs.

The problem is, San Diego’s storm infrastructure is over a hundred years old and increasingly prone to issues. On top of that, the city has no dedicated source of funding for stormwater infrastructure. “Whenever emergencies happen, like pipe failures, sinkholes, pollution issues they pull out of the general fund that should be going to parks and roads and other public services,” Senturk said. Because of this, issues are dealt with on an individual basis and the systemic problems are never addressed. 

To deal with this, San Diego Coastkeeper is advocating for a ballot measure that will hopefully go before the voters in 2024. If passed, it would provide the city with the funding needed to address these problems.  It would be similar to a measure passed by Los Angeles in 2018 that raised the city’s stormwater fees to address the same problem. 

San Diego has not raised its stormwater fees since 1996, which are still only $0.95 per month. This is far less than most other major cities, which have fees around $10 per month. The ballot measure, which would require two thirds of voters to approve, would raise that amount to something that is similar to other cities.

“We want to connect that in people’s minds, because it’s not something that they usually see, until it’s ruining their day and they’re having to divert people off the 78 freeway because of sinkholes and erosion,” Senturk said. 

These are just a few of the important programs San Diego Coastkeeper is doing for our community. If you are interested in learning more about what they do or would like to support their mission, go to sdcoastkeeper.org. There you can find opportunities to get involved, or make a donation.

Photos courtesy of San Diego Coastkeeper.