Ocean Protection

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The City of Manhattan Beach is committed to safeguarding our oceans by undertaking comprehensive and meticulously planned stormwater and urban runoff initiatives to address pollutants of concern such as bacteria and trash and to manage stormwater resources in a more sustainable way. The City's stormwater projects and programs are designed to intercept and manage runoff and debris, to prevent harmful impacts to our precious marine ecosystems and coastline along the Santa Monica Bay. Through diligent and purposeful efforts, Manhattan Beach is taking proactive measures to ensure that our ocean remains pristine and free from the detrimental effects of pollution and waste. These projects not only protect our ocean, they are critical elements of the City’s plan to achieve compliance with State and Federal water quality regulations, protect human health, and ensure the resiliency of coastal infrastructure in the face of climate change.

Ocean Protection Video Series

Journey with the City of Manhattan Beach through this educational video series.

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OCEAN WATER QUALITY

In the City of Manhattan Beach, the health of our community is our top priority. One of the main concerns when living by the coast, is the ocean itself. This is why we support the Blue Water Task Force, an organization dedicated to testing ocean water quality and ensuring that results comply with state-wide safe standards. The Blue Water Task examines samples in 55 locations throughout the country, and has a chapter specific to the South Bay. The organization operates throughout the year, regardless of the lesser crowds during the colder months when health officials scale back on testing.

The collection of ocean water samples allows for the identification and monitoring of pollutants and bacteria in our waters. If the levels are high, it may be advised that the public does not enter the water off our coasts, as this may negatively impact health. Ocean water quality is often poor in areas where there is less ocean circulation, or for several days after heavy rain storms. Regardless of known outside factors, the public should check quality levels before entering the water. The City partners with Heal the Bay, which provides an interactive, user-friendly Beach Report Card where water quality is regularly updated for a multitude of beaches throughout LA county and beyond. Heal the Bay also produces comprehensive annual Beach and River Report Cards for water bodies around the state that summarize water quality conditions year-round.

Stormwater management directly contributes to water quality at our local beaches. The City makes an effort to institute practices that promote a safe and healthy ocean. The list of practices can be found on our Water Conservation and Stormwater Management webpage.

What You Can Do

In addition to volunteering with the Blue Water Task Force, there are several other opportunities throughout coastal California where citizens can educate themselves or become involved in monitoring practices. Through these organizations, we achieve a better understanding of what pollutes our bodies of water and learn methods of preventing this from occurring.

Citizen Science Opportunities

Blue Water Task Force

LA Waterkeeper

For additional suggestions, you can visit the National Water Quality Monitoring Council

THE CITY'S STORMWATER AND URBAN RUNOFF INITIATIVES

The City of Manhattan Beach has effectively eliminated dry weather urban runoff to the Santa Monica Bay by diverting this flow from the storm drain system to the sanitary sewer system for recycling and eventual reuse. On average, the City prevents over 8M gallons of urban runoff from reaching the ocean each year through completed dry weather diversion projects which has markedly improved beach water quality during dry weather. While this progress is noteworthy, there is still work to be done to protect our coastline during wet weather. Managing runoff during a storm requires robustly engineered systems. The storm drain system that we rely on today was built decades ago and was not designed to prevent stormwater pollution or to capture stormwater for beneficial use. The City is working hard to meet these challenges, and has secured over $30M in external funding to supplement its Storm Drain fee investments to complete important stormwater projects designed to achieve ambitious goals for ocean protection and coastal resiliency:

Zero trash discharged to the ocean from the City's storm drains;
54% reduction in wet weather bacterial pollution loading to Santa Monica Bay;
1.7 million gallons of water treated per day to remove copper and zinc in stormwater flowing to Dominguez Channel;
Completion of nine (9) high-priority Capital Improvement Projects over 20 years to reduce localized flooding, improve water quality and enhance water supply.
Restoration of over 3 acres of dune habitat to create a living shoreline, extending the City's total restored dune habitat to over half the length of the City’s 2.1-mile shoreline.