Newport Bay

A sewage spill last week provided more evidence of the need for close monitoring if millions of gallons of treated waste water are pumped into upper Newport Bay. The spill of an estimated 6,000 gallons of partially treated sewage occurred at a water reclamation plant of the Irvine Ranch Water District. The same plant spilled about 5 million gallons of reclaimed water last month. It is the district's treated waste water that would be sent into Newport Bay if a two-year pilot program goes forward.

Though they might not inspire the same romantic feeling as the swallows returning to Capistrano, ospreys have begun to spread their wings — and domain — in Orange County. A female osprey reared on a man-made platform in Upper Newport Bay recently hatched a chick at another specialized platform a few miles away in Irvine. Experts say this is a positive sign for a species that for decades had no known nests in Southern California. The ospreys, birds of prey once threatened by hunters and the pesticide DDT, have been watched over locally by a group of dedicated conservationists who are just now understanding the species' breeding patterns.

Location: Within the city of Newport Beach. Description: Lower Newport Harbor is considered by some to be one of the finest small boat harbors in the world, with more than 6,000 boats at anchor. Two main channels encircle the harbor's numerous islands and converge at the harbor entrance, formed by two long jetties. The harbor is lined by bluffs, sandy beaches and rocky coves, with private homes and docks fronting much of the shoreline.

Residents of a private island in Newport Bay are suing the California Coastal Commission to keep their pedestrian bridge from opening to the public. The Coastal Commission contends that the Bay Island Club, an association of 24 homeowners on the tiny island by that name, must allow public access to the bridge if the club wants to replace the aging 130-foot span. It's a classic example of the struggle between private landowners and state government, which, since the 1976 passage of the California Coastal Act, has aggressively protected the public's access to shorelines and waterways.

An all-day symposium to examine the state of Newport Bay and its watershed will take place today at UC Irvine. Participants are expected to include representatives from the cities of Newport Beach and Irvine, the Irvine Ranch Water District, the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, UCI and other area colleges, Defend the Bay, Friends of Newport Bay, Caltrans and the Coastal Conservancy. The symposium, which kicks off with registration at 8 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m.

Re "Newport Bay's Health Risks Low, Study Says," Sept. 1: At the invitation of the environmental consulting firm conducting the Newport Beach health risk study, I attended the first health advisory committee meeting held on May 17, 1999, in Oakland. I expressed my concerns that the proposed design of the health effects study was fatally flawed and would not stand up to scientific scrutiny. Several nationally known scientists provided similar concerns. The major flaw of the study is the reliance on the number of coliphage organisms (viruses that infect bacteria but not humans)

Recent water sampling in Newport Bay confirms that high bacteria levels remain a problem but shows improvement on weekends over a 1984 study, suggesting that a Newport Beach campaign against dumping of toilet waste from boats may be working. Although bacteria counts exceeded standards for water contact sports at several of seven sites sampled, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board study, which is scheduled to be released today, said monitoring shows no health threat.

Guided walking tours of the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Preserve are being offered today by Friends of Newport Bay. The tours will cover about a mile of Upper Newport Bay, with stops for exhibits and talks on the area's history. Small tour groups will depart from the corner of Eastbluff Drive and Backbay Drive every 10 or 15 minutes, beginning at 9 a.m. The last tour will start at 10:15 a.m.

A Newport Bay marina was closed Thursday after a blocked line sent sewage overflowing from a manhole and into a storm drain, officials said. A roadwork crew discovered the spill about 8 a.m., said Monica Mazur, spokeswoman for the Orange County Environmental Health Division. The sewage was flowing into Harbor Marina at Newport Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway. Officials said the marina will reopen as early as Saturday.

The Board of Governors of the Southern California Wetlands Clearinghouse on Friday authorized more than $5 million in funding for local restoration projects, including two in Orange County. A project in the Bolsa Chica wetlands will receive $500,000. The authorization also completes funding for the $7.4-million Upper Newport Bay dredging project.

Holiday crowds watched bodysurfers take on the famed Wedge in Newport Beach on Sunday, gawking and snapping photos as waves up to 10 feet high crashed onto shore. No injuries were reported, but there were plenty of wipeouts to keep Fourth of July beachgoers entertained. "Whoa! That was a big one," said Ron Gerhardt, 77, as he and a friend watched turquoise pyramids rise high and collapse in a churning heap. Gerhardt, who lives in La Cañada Flintridge, reminisced about his own bodysurfing feats at the Wedge in the 1950s.

Modernist architect Irving Gill wasn't known for designing houses with the main rooms on the second floor, but some touches inspired by his work -- such as a creamy white exterior, the use of natural light and heavily framed windows -- make this custom home stand out on Little Balboa Island. It's a hybrid of old and new -- a bit Craftsman, contemporary and Mission-style in appearance. "Some people call it Southwestern contemporary while others label it California modern, but it's neither of those," says Glen Gellatly, who designed the house nearly a decade ago when he was with Bissell Architects.

The Joedy had seen better days. The stout little tugboat leaked oil and took on water. It was missing a fire extinguisher. And its captain didn't have the proper license. But the real problem, the Coast Guard said, was that Joedy kept smashing into things in Newport Bay. Like the bridge that spans the harbor entrance and the bay-front fish market that sells fresh lobster. One whack after another. Authorities tallied four crashes in five weeks.

An Orange County environmental group plans to spend the next three years trying to wean Newport Beach boat owners from toxic copper-based paints that have proven highly effective in keeping barnacles off their hulls. The problem, they say, is that the popular paints are deadly to fish, mussels and pretty much anything that lives in the bay.

Cheap, funky and wonderfully reliable, the Balboa Island Ferry remains an old-time relic in the crowded waters of tony Newport Bay. This week, for the first sustained period in half a century, the wooden boats that reliably lug cars, locals and vacationers between Balboa Island and the peninsula have stopped chugging. Although the shutdown for overdue repairs is temporary, it's interrupted the unhurried rhythm of the beach town.

Everyone agrees that thick sediment deposits are threatening to transform pristine Upper Newport Bay into a meadow. But the biggest threat to the ecologically important estuary may not be the silt and mud clogging it. Instead, the culprit is likely another one: money. Or rather the lack of it. A dredge and barge began work two years ago to remove 2.3 million cubic yards of built-up muck, with a projected cost of nearly $39 million.

Like the other old men at this Costa Mesa boatyard, where the hulls of peeling sloops and half-made cutters rot on their wooden posts, Karl Markvart can't be certain he'll live long enough to reach the water. Again and again, he's watched the boat builders around him lose their race to the sea, their unfinished vessels hauled off to the junkyard to make room for another boat, another mad dreamer.

Several docks in Newport Bay have been closed to swimming and diving due to a sewage spill, authorities said Monday. Docks E through H at the Balboa Bay Club and the Orange Coast College Crew Docks have been closed after a line break at a pump-out station leaked an unknown amount of raw sewage into the ocean. Authorities said the area would remain closed at least until mid-week. -- David Haldane