Coastal Watershed Council urge public to help protect health of San Lorenzo River

UPDATE: The Coastal Watershed Council kicked off a public information campaign which consists of a three- pronged approach to keep bacteria out of the San Lorenzo River.

“We are trying to get everyone to realize that everyone has a role,” said Greg Pepping, Executive Director of the Costal Watershed Council. “There are steps people can take today to improve the health of the San Lorenzo River.

One of the steps focuses on home and business owners not letting anything other than rain water runoff.

“We don’t wash the drive way, we don’t wash the sidewalk,” said Santa Cruz resident Drew Meyer. “It flushes undesirable pollutants into the storm drains which goes into the river.”

They’re also asking people to pick up pet waste because it does not break down like waste from wild animals and can contain harmful bacteria and viruses.

“Pick up after your pets in the backyard, side yard, at the park and sidewalk,” said Pepping.

Lastly officials are asking people to maintain and inspect their sewer laterals, which are pipes that connect from your plumbing to the sanitary sewer system. Overtime they can crack and leak sewage, causing contamination.

“We do not maintain the sewer laterals,” said Steve Wolfman with the City of Santa Cruz Public Works Department. “We have sewer lateral overflows at the sidewalk probably once a month and they’re a public nuisance.”

Meyer and his family bought a home about a year ago and discovered they had faulty plumbing that was not disclosed. It costs them $10,000 dollars to fix in the first six months.

“I have two twin boys, they are four-years-old, they were in the bathtub,” said Meyer. “I was traveling in Las Vegas on a business trip, I got a frantic call saying the sewage is backing up in the tub. So then you have no options. Had we had the lateral inspected we would have discovered that there were preexisting problems.”

Officials are also proposing some changes to the existing sewer use ordinance that will require people to inspect their plumbing before they sell their home.

The Coastal Watershed Council also has a blog and social media campaign to get more people on board with doing their part to take care of the river.

ORIGINAL STORY: The Coastal Watershed Council launches a public campaign asking homeowners, businesses etc. to help keep the San Lorenzo River clean.

Officials say the river is cleaner than what people think, but it continues to exceed the state standards for acceptable levels of bacteria in the water.

Until human sources of bacteria in the river are zero, they’re asking people to do things like inspect their residential sewer lines and pick up their pet waste.

Kions Maya Holmes will have the full story at 6 p.m.