Green Port water quality projects protect and improve water quality by managing the activities that can cause water pollution.
Program Goal
- Improve the quality of Long Beach Harbor waters
While there is no state standard for water clarity, concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the Port have consistently stayed well above 5 mg/L, the minimum that the state’s Water Resources Board has deemed healthful for marine waters. Port water quality programs are designed to maintain the high quality of harbor waters, and the Port is proud of its award-winning efforts.
Recent Accomplishments
- Committed $4.5 million to long-term storm water management and dust control on undeveloped Port properties, and spent $1 million in 2005 installing protection for 87 acres. These controls will minimize runoff from these sites into the harbor.
- Removed 400 cubic yards of trash from Port streets and waterways, thereby preventing trash from entering the harbor through the Port’s storm drains.
- Began development of a storm water permit compliance tracking system for construction sites.
- Conducted 82 facility inspections under the Master Storm Water Program to verify storm water compliance and management practices by the Port and its tenants.
- Tested automatic remote sampling devices to improve storm runoff sampling and monitoring.
In Progress
- Incorporating storm water management features, such as the treatment of water flows from industrial areas into new terminals.
- Conducting regular inspections of all Port facilities to ensure compliance with storm water regulations and employ best management practices for minimizing storm water pollution.
- Monitoring water quality around dredging projects to ensure that contaminants do not exceed water quality standards.
Upcoming Activities
- A Port-funded sampling and monitoring program to support the development of Total Maximum Daily Load pollution limits for the harbor area by the federal EPA and the state Water Board will begin in 2006.
- Automatic storm water sampling devices are being installed at hard-to-sample sites around the Port.
- Application of long-term storm water controls on undeveloped sites is ongoing.
- The first of the storm water treatment devices at major Port facilities are being installed.
Informational Graphic
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