Water

I am now convinced that ocean desalination will provide almost 10% of our future potable (drinking) water requirements here in the Southern Orange County. Waiting any longer to embrace it will jeopardize those critical needs. Here in South O.C., due to ancient infrastructure and EPA regulations, fires are fought using exclusively potable supply lines. Twenty years ago, here in Laguna Beach, as a volunteer myself, I can attest that we basically ran out. Only the wind shifting 180 degrees around 7 p.m. saved us or it would have burnt down the rest of our region.

High school's Surfrider Club keeps track of bacteria at local beaches.Cruising Laguna's coastline once a week, members of the high school's Surfrider Club put the community's ocean water to the test. The club is a grass-roots effort funded through donations from the Laguna Beach Surfrider Club to help increase community awareness about the level of bacteria in the water. The good news, according to club president Marshall Thomas, is that rarely does his group find problems.

WEATHER TIDBITS The first real symptoms of summer have been felt the past several days. 70- to 72-degree water, minimal marine layer, seasonal thunderstorms popping up in our local mountains and deserts and now, tropical storm Cristina is sending us some of her energy in the form of a clean 175 south tropical swell at 10 to 11 seconds. So we're two for three so far this season. Not bad at all. Remember, we got waves from "Alma" way back in May and "Boris" in June never made it as far as our surf window.

The Laguna Beach Age Group Water Polo 8th-grade-and-Under team won the silver medal by posting a 5-1 record at the San Diego Cup tournament. Laguna won its first five matches by a combined score of 53-10, before falling in the division final to Santa Barbara. Both Candyce Schroeder and Jessie Holechek of Laguna were named to the all-tournament team. Santa Barbara 10, Laguna 6 Laguna took a 1-0 lead on a score from Jessica Shusko from hole set, but Santa Barbara scored the next three goals and never trailed again to win the gold.

The 8-cent-per-gallon cost of water quoted in the Coastline Pilot [?Water district OKs rate hike,? Nov. 14] should have been $.004 ($3.02 per unit/748 gallons/unit = $.004 = 0.4 cents/gallon). This does not include the fixed service cost of the meter. At $0.004 per gallon, there is very little motivation to conserve water and the related pumping costs of the energy that is required to deliver potable water 24/7 to our taps from Lake Powell, the Sierras and regional wells. To effect water and energy conservation, we should encourage our water districts to: ?

A couple of Laguna Beach entrepreneurs are promoting a new gadget they say will help property owners save water and money. Grieg Altieri and Howard Jelenik have collaborated to produce the WaterDex, a device that simplifies the adjustment of sprinkler timers to match weather and soil conditions, operated by a remote control. Altieri is a partner of Rockrose Technology in Irvine, which produced the WaterDex, using wireless technology developed by Cognitive Systems, in which Jelenik invested.

Summertime…. And while the living might not be easy for all the business owners in town, our visitors seem to be soaking up the best of times. The beaches have been packed, the water temperatures have warmed, and after last week’s huge south swell, we’ve settled back into more tourist-friendly surf. I’m sure the lifeguards are happy for a breather. My son, Cooper, was in town for his 33rd birthday this week (OMG, how did I end up with a child who is 33 years old?

They come from Russia, Japan, China, Iran, India and Pomona. They are allies, enemies, Hindus, Buddhists, Catholics and atheists, but once in Laguna they are all Main Beach tourists. Like schools of colorful fish, they huddle, pause and swim, randomly moving forward, stopping and pointing at nothing in particular. They stop at shiny things and talk in foreign tongues, Instagramming their experience, immediately looking at the image, laughing and taking another. And another.

The cause of death for the Laguna Niguel man who died last week after snorkeling in Goff Cove is under investigation, according to the coroner's office. The autopsy has been completed on Robert Mirett and results should be available in 10 to 12 weeks, officials said. According to police, witnesses reported that the 60-year-old man entered the water alone around 1:30 p.m. with snorkeling gear on. At around 4 p.m. Mirett was seen floating in the water, still in snorkeling gear.

Sea water swirls around my feet as sand pushes up between my toes. The incoming tide carries bits of tossed glass, broken shells, lobster carcasses, and wavy tails of spent grass. Flotsam and jetsam, I think. Circling the globe. The same waters flow in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic, Baltic, and Andaman Seas, the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and St. Lawrence Seaways. We are connected, we humans, not only by the air we share, but also by the waters that caress our shores, the waters that circulate in our bodies.

Mayor Kelly Boyd announced his pledge to conserve water at the April 9 City Council meeting and urged residents to help Laguna successfully defend its title as a Most Water-Wise City. The month-long National Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation ends April 30. Laguna Beach was in second place as of last week, behind Hermosa Beach in pledges to follow a series of efficiency measures for their home, yard and automobile. Pledges may be made by logging into http://www.mywaterpledge.com . "Get your pledges in or we'll be hearing from Jane," Boyd said.

The South Coast Water District board of directors unanimously approved an addendum to the environmental impact report for its tunnel stabilization and sewer pipeline replacement project at its March 28 board meeting in Dana Point. District officials approved a recent proposal to realign a 725-foot portion of a 2-mile tunnel under the bluffs at Three Arch Bay. The tunnel, whose interior is composed of earth, rock and timber supports, houses a sewage pipeline from Three Arch Bay north to Aliso Creek Beach.

The Environmental Sustainability Committee has had a busy year since its creation after the Environmental Committee abruptly imploded in 2011. Chairman Martin Taylor reported that committee activities included the development of a draft environmental sustainability document that is under consideration by the City Council for inclusion in the city's general plan. The document is subject to hearings and a recommendation by the Planning Commission. "This is a large undertaking and will take a substantial amount of time," Taylor told the City Council at the March 19 meeting.

Four of the eight wells the Soroptimist International of Laguna Beach and Women of the Wells raised funds for have been installed in India, according to Sandy Vetter of the organization. In a press release, the nonprofit stated that the first four wells are in the "villages of Dukari Pada, Gulataare, Pepal Gaon, and Gulataare, located in the state of Maharashtra, near Sakri, India. The previous water sources for these tribals were dirty ponds, or shallow open wells, most of which would dry up during the summer season.

If the brilliance of last weekend wasn't harbinger enough that spring is fast approaching, the thick, redolent fragrance of jasmine removed all doubt. As we transition away from our long Laguna nightmare known as winter, we should consider how the mighty Pacific mitigates the gloom - especially this year. For I come not to bury winter, but to praise it. Summer may mean languorous days on our sun-kissed beaches and 70-degree water, but it can never match the magnificence of ocean in winter, when the crisp air and unfiltered visibility is rivaled for clarity only by the ocean beneath.

South Coast Water District board members plan to vote later this month on a proposal to realign a portion of a 2-mile tunnel that houses a sewage pipeline in South Laguna. The district's tunnel stabilization and sewer pipeline project covers an area from Three Arch Bay north to Aliso Creek Beach and handles 1-million gallons of sewage per day. The district wants to realign two portions of the tunnel: a 725-foot span under the bluffs at Three Arch Bay and a 150-foot section under the bluffs north of Thousand Steps Beach.

When Laguna Beach and Newport Harbor get together in the pool for girls' water polo competition, the action almost never seems to lack drama. Saturday at the Laguna pool, it was turned up a notch. The sixth-ranked Breakers and fourth-ranked Sailors went up against each other for a second time this season in a CIF Southern Section Division 1 quarterfinal showdown where a berth in the semifinals awaited the winner. After a deadlock through regulation, it was Newport that survived to move on, following an 11-10 overtime victory.

The Laguna Beach girls' water polo team made it a 1-2-3 season sweep of Dos Pueblos of Goleta Wednesday. The third meeting between the two teams in six weeks was the most important, a first-round game in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. The outcome turned out to be another victory for the Breakers who kept their title hopes alive with a 9-8 win at home. With the win, Orange Coast League champion Laguna advances to face Sunset League champ Newport Harbor in a division quarterfinal Saturday at 2 p.m. The No. 6-seeded Breakers play host to the No. 4-seeded Sailors, who defeated Canyon of Anaheim, 18-3, on Wednesday.

A trend of sea lion pups becoming malnourished along the Orange County coast has led to an uptick in the number of animals admitted to a local marine mammal center, according to experts. As of Monday, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center on Laguna Canyon Road is caring for 38 sea lions, up from six in January 2012, said Melissa Sciacca, the center's director of development. Ten of those 38 animals were delivered from another marine life center. All of the sea lions are pups between six to seven months old that are trying to wean from their mothers, Sciacca said.

A fast start left little doubt Wednesday that the Laguna Beach High girls' water polo team was on its way to another big Orange Coast League victory. The Breakers gave up a first-quarter goal to host Estancia but then shut out the Eagles the remainder of the way, and rolled to a 23-1 victory. Makenzie Fischer and Ally Jochim both scored four goals and Lexi Del Toro and Sydney Saxe each scored three goals, to pace the offensive output. Laguna, ranked sixth in CIF Southern Section Division 1, improved to 3-0 in league and clinched another OCL championship.