Newport Beach City Manager Update: Heal the Bay Report Card
By Guest Contributor Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager – June 18, 2023
Source: Newport Beach Independent Newport Beach City Manager Update: Heal the Bay Report Card
Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
Newport Beach scored high marks during the summer season in the 33rd Annual Heal the Bay Beach Report Card, released Wednesday, June 14.
Of the 36 Newport Beach bay and ocean testing sites listed in the report, 32 earned an A or A+ during the summer season, when the beaches are most frequented. Four sites earned a B grade. Heal the Bay’s annual report measures bacterial pollution for more than 700 West Coast beaches, from Washington to Baja, ranking them and grading their water quality from A to F.
Newport Beach’s grades were consistent with other California beaches, 94% of which received an A or B grade during the summer season.
Earning consistently high marks for water quality is more difficult during the wet weather, when rainfall washes bacteria and other toxins into oceans and bays. During the wet weather, five Newport Beach ocean-facing beaches received an F, while two earned B grades. Encouragingly, all Newport Harbor locations were graded A+, A or B during wet weather. Fewer beaches received winter dry grades because most of the winter data was collected during wet weather.
Source: Newport Beach Independent Newport Beach City Manager Update: Balboa Peninsula Safety, Heal the Bay Report Card
Newport Beach has a handful of iconic attractions that have stood the test of time: The Newport Pier, which replaced the original McFadden Wharf (1888-1939) and is registered as a California Historical Landmark; the Balboa Pavilion, which opened on July 1, 1906 and is the city’s oldest standing building; and the Balboa Island Ferry, which went into service in 1919 to bring cars and passengers across 900 feet of water between Balboa Island and the Balboa Fun Zone.
All permits are in place for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge channels in Lower Newport Bay and bury any contaminated sediment in a massive underwater pit at the heart of Newport Harbor.
But the project is now facing multiple legal challenges that could slow it down or thwart it entirely, as resident and environmental groups that tried to block those permits cite ongoing concerns over risks to marine life and bay contamination.
The Balboa Island Ferry, one of our most iconic Newport Beach tourism experiences, could be no more.
If that sounds dramatic, it is. I can’t imagine our city without the ferry, but unless something is done, this treasured piece of our city could be gone in less than two years.
Thousands of locals and visitors use the ferry every year and it’s a vital part of our culture and history. It is part of what makes us Newport Beach, and in my mind, it is as important as our beaches. But all of that is now threatened and could be lost.
Representatives from the Surfrider Foundation North Orange County Chapter recently presented the City with a generous donation of $12,415 toward the purchase and installation of a new marine trash skimmer for Newport Harbor. The donation will be used to offset the $18,000 cost of a new trash skimmer that will replace an older, broken skimmer located at the Rhine Wharf public dock.
City leaders gathered at Marina Park on Sunday to remember the first anniversary of the death of Huntington Beach Police Officer Nick Vella off the Lido Peninsula.
“The city of Newport Beach is honored to celebrate the life and sacrifice of Officer Pilot Vella. His bravery and valor shall be remembered forever.” – Newport Beach Mayor Noah Blom
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!