Got a case of the sewage sniffles...ya know, every fall just after the rain, surf sessions turn to sniffle sessions. Meager infections of the gastrointestinal to the sinus drip leave you fatigued or running duck-legged to the nearest bathroom. We all get it and we often seem to buck it up for the session, regardless of the advisory alert or the recent results from one of our Blue Water Task Force labs.
My standard fall surf haiku: The east wind calls me, to the ocean less than blue, poop does not deter. But does it have to be that way? Storm water infiltrates and ovewhelms our aging sewer lines, pump stations fail, beaches become posted advisories of contamination, city managers and public works staff work overtime...dig, replace, replumb, repeat. Our coastal cities are forced by small budgets to operate on disaster response. Rarely do we find comprehensive planning for repairing and budgeting for these out of sight, out of mind systems. This winter, we embark on a public awareness campaign to highlight solution-based efforts to water quality issues in coastal Oregon. We're planning to collaborate on a Winter Water Film Series in the coming months. We're kicking off our efforts next Thursday with "Liquid Assets" in Newport Oregon (
www.surfrider.org/centralcoastoregon). We're sleuthing sewer solutions in Seaside (
www.surfrider.org/oregon/northcoast/index.html). Volunteer for one of our Blue Water Task Force labs, plug into your local communities planning, get involved and stay tuned for more!