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On Dec. 29. they collected samples which also tested at maximum levels (16000 per 100 ml.)
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Tim checks our course south of Pt. Loma Tim has a PhD. in Oceanography from Oregon State University, and is Chief Scientist in charge of an ocean monitoring program in Mexico. He works at CICESE (Centro de Investigaciones Cientifica y Educacion Superior de Ensenada) in Ensenada. The research program is called IMECOCAL. They conduct 4 cruises a year to study the California Current. Cruises depart from Ensenada in Baja California, and end in San Carlos in Baja California Sur. They sample stations from as close as 10 miles from shore, to as far as 200 miles offshore. |
On December 24 and December
28 1999, my husband, Dr. Tim Baumgartner, and I visited the area near the
discharge point of the South Bay Ocean Outfall. The outfall has been in
operation since January 1999, and discharges an average of 25 million gallons/day
(MGD) of primary treated sewage into the ocean at a depth of 90 feet.
I wanted to see if any impacts from this sewage discharge were visible on the surface of the ocean, and asked my husband, oceanographer Tim Baumgartner, to help me investigate. I have been monitoring the water quality and environmental impacts of this project since 1994. The plant is currently operating at primary levels, but is required to upgrade to secondary treatment levels by Dec. 31, 200. We borrowed a video camera from San Diego Baykeeper to record water conditions at the outfall location and compare them to other areas nearby , and also took still photos for use in reports and this website. |
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| We used our 28' sailboat Night Passage to travel the 12 miles from Harbor Island in San Diego to the outfall, located 3 miles offshore of Imperial Beach, on the Mexican border. | 
Night Passage in her slip at Harbor Island |
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To ensure we were on course to the outfall, we used a global positioning system (GPS) shown here. Our destination coordinates matched the one identified in the Ocean Monitoring station as I-12, which is listed in the NPDES permit issed to the Intenational Wastewater Treatment Plant (IWTP). We also used a depth finder to make sure we were on the 90 foot isobath over the discharge location. | |
Page 2: arrival at the outfall |
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Updated 1/8/00 All information and photos © Lori Saldaña & Tim Baumgartner For more information please contact Lori Saldaña |