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Cowell Beach is Clean Again
COMMUNITY NEWS
Cowell Beach is Clean Again!
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Looking for a place to cool off this summer? Consider Cowell Beach in Santa Cruz.
For the third consecutive year, bacteria counts are down — so Cowell Beach west of the Municipal Wharf is not listed on Heal the Bay’s “Beach Bummer” list.
“This is fantastic news,” said Mayor Sonja Brunner. “This is where we want to be to support public health and our local economy.”
Investigation by City of Santa Cruz staff and Cowell’s Working Group revealed birds roosting on or near the Wharf was a major source of water quality woes.
This was addressed by installing bird screening to reduce pigeons and gulls roosting and defecating under the Wharf. Sliding gates were placed at Neary Lagoon to keep bacteria-infested water from flowing through a storm outlet vault onto Cowell Beach during summer. A steel plate installed at the Neary outfall pipe below sea level diverted bacteria-laden water to the Wastewater Treatment Facility for treatment and disinfection.
Cowell was rated the most polluted beach in California in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Water quality is measured by the City of Santa Cruz Environmental Laboratory and Santa Cruz County Environmental Health Department.
Cowell’s Working Group, launched in 2014 at the direction of the Santa Cruz City Council, includes representatives from the city, the county, Save The Waves Coalition, Sierra Club and Surfrider Foundation.
“Great outcomes …can come from getting the right people together,” said Save The Waves Coordinator Shaun Burns. “This is a group of people that truly care for Cowell’s; and the results from this year’s report card show that.” n •••
See https://healthebay.org/beachreportcard 2022/ and www.savethewaves.org/cowells/.
Cowell Beach, Santa Cruz • Photo Credit: Nikki Brooks
“Highway 17” from page 6
SB 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, accounts for more than $930 million of the total funding.
SB 1 provides $5 billion in annual transportation funding annually that is split between the state and local agencies. Road projects progress through construction phases more quickly based on the availability of SB 1 funds, including projects that are partially funded by SB 1. n •••
For more information about transportation projects funded by SB 1, visit RebuildingCA. ca.gov.
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