Meeting the City of Santa Monica's Urban Runoff Treatment Objectives

As a Southern California coastal community with a tourism-focused economy, the City of Santa Monica was acutely aware that they had a serious urban runoff problem that was negatively impacting local economic activity: Every time it rained, floatable trash and sediment which accumulated in the stormwater conveyance system during the 8-month long dry season each year was flushed directly onto nearby beaches during storm events, causing frequent beach closures. Besides the negative publicity associated with the beach closures, the community has a strong environmental ethic, and the trash-induced beach closures were as affront to the sensitivities of the citizenry. This paper focuses on how the City developed the Westside Urban Runoff Treatment Facility to deal with the floatable trash problem in the eastern portion of the City.