In late February, the Newport City Council voted 7-0 in favor of a watershed protection ordinance, stormwater utility and disconnect program, pet waste ordinance, and nuisance ordinances protecting the watershed to name a few. This package of water quality measures was heavily based on recommendations provided by Surfriders Central Coast Chapter. The watershed management ordinances and codes were sent back and forth to the council workgroup sessions 3 times before finally passing all recommendations made by the chapter. Additionally, the Dept of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently accepted chapter and city plans for a supplemental environmental project (SEP) for a biopond and DNA testing along Nye Creek. The project will begin this summer and end in the fall of 2009. This spring the chapter will be launching a new campaign (Stop the Sewage), in light of sewer and stormwater cross-connects discovered during the chapter and citys source ID testing this winter. The codes are in place now to enforce this important issue and the chapter and city of Newport have begun a smoke and dye testing project aimed at identifying the households in violation.
