RESOURCES
Newport Bay Trash Interceptor
PROJECT NEED
Hundreds of tons of trash each year washes into Newport Beach’s bay, harbor, and ocean. This trash comes from inland communities through the Upper Newport Bay watershed, a network of storm drains, rivers, creeks, and canals. The Upper Newport Bay watershed spans 154 square miles, encompassing the cities of Irvine, Tustin, Orange, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, and Newport Beach.
The City of Newport Beach is pursuing a sustainably powered system that will collect a significant amount of trash from upstream sources before it enters the bay and ocean. The $3 million Trash Interceptor is expected to reduce the amount of waste reaching the Upper Newport Bay by 80 percent (estimated between 100 to 500 tons a year).
The project will supplement other efforts already in place – such as trash booms, storm drain collection systems, and floating skimmers – to prevent trash from entering sensitive aquatic environments.
