Orange County Supervisors approve harbor water quality monitoring MOU

The Orange County Board of Supervisors, on April 24, unanimously approved a new Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, with the San Diego Regional Water Quality Region for a Regional Harbor Monitoring Program.

The MOU and monitoring program, according to county staff, provides water quality status and trends and assesses “the surface water’s abilities to support designated beneficial uses.”

The program involves Orange County, Port of San Diego, U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and the cities of San Diego and Oceanside.

San Diego’s Water Quality Control Board created the Regional Harbor Monitoring Program in 2003. The various agencies involved work together to monitor water quality in the San Diego region.

The current Regional Harbor Monitoring Program is set to expire on June 30, but a new MOU updates annual allotments of each agency involved in the collaborative effort. The new MOU also maintains the program’s cost and obligations through June 30, 2023.

“A cost sharing formula included in the MOU assigns 13 percent of the total program costs to O.C. Community Resources/O.C. Parks based on factors including the water area in each harbor. The total anticipated county cost for the five-year term of the MOU is $225,301,” county staff stated.

Parimal M. Rohit photo

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