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PROJECT ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION PLAN FOR THE HEISLER PARK ASBS PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION PROJECT – PHASE I Agreement No. XXXXXX State Water Resources Control Board COMPLETED PLAN PREPARED BY Will Holoman, City of Laguna Beach Refer correspondence to: Will Holoman, Senior Water Quality Analyst City of Laguna Beach 505 Forest Avenue Laguna Beach, CA 92651 Telephone: (949)497-0781 Email: [email protected] Approvals: Title Laguna Beach City Manager Laguna Beach Director of Water Quality RWQCB Contract Grant Manager SWRCB Quality Control Reviewer Name Kenneth Frank David Shissler, P.E. Ruben Mora ____ Signature Date Project Assessment and Evaluation Plan Agreement No. 10-XXX-XXX-XX 6/8/10– DRAFT TABLE OF CONTENTS I. PROJECT SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 3 A. FUNDING PROGRAM .......................................................................................... 3 B. PROJECT DESCRIPTION ..................................................................................... 3 C. PROBLEM STATEMENT ..................................................................................... 3 D. MONITORING TASKS AND ACTIVITIES ........................................................ 5 E. PROJECT GOALS AND DESIRED OUTCOMES ............................................... 6 II. PROJECT PERFORMANCE MEASURES TABLES ............................................... 7 Table 1 Project Performance Measures ........................................................................ 8 2 Project Assessment and Evaluation Plan Agreement No. 10-XXX-XXX-XX 6/8/10– DRAFT I. PROJECT SUMMARY FUNDING PROGRAM The Proposition 84 ASBS Grant Program provides funding for projects that restore and protect the water quality and the environment of coastal waters, estuaries, bays, and near shore waters which affect a particular ASBS. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The objective of the Heisler Park ASBS Protection and Preservation Phase III project is to reduce the amount of bacteria reaching the adjacent ASBS by routing nuisance flows and flows from small storm events through treatment control BMPs then diverting any remaining water to the sanitary sewer system. Nuisance flows will be reduced by incorporating Smarttimers and irrigation improvements throughout the project area. The predicted outcome of this project is the reduction of bacteria levels in the ocean by eliminating flow from storm drain lines to the beach during non-storm and small storm conditions. PROBLEM STATEMENT Elevated indicator bacteria levels in the waters of the Pacific Ocean in the Heisler Park ASBS may represent a threat to human health and sensitive aquatic ecosystems. In response, the State Water Quality Control Board has put special protections in place in this ASBS. These special protections include a prohibition of anthropogenic surface water discharge unless specifically exempted through the ASBS permitting process. To meet the objectives of the special protections, the volume of, pollutant loads and bacteria levels in surface water and storm drain runoff reaching the Pacific Ocean at the Heisler Park ASBS must be reduced to the maximum extent practicable. Heisler Park is currently designed to drain directly to the ocean through its subterranean storm drains and sheet flows on the surface. i. Baseline: Baseline data in the HP5 project area include water meter data, bacteria levels in the adjacent ocean water and beach closure data. Water meter data is maintained by the Laguna Beach Water District. Multiple water meters serve the irrigation system within the project area. Pre- and postconstruction water meter data will be used to assess the reduction in irrigation water applied to the project area. Bacteria levels in the ocean adjacent to the project are monitored by the County of Orange. Historical data will be combined with one year of post-construction data in the assessment analysis. Beach closure data is maintained by the County of Orange and the City of Laguna Beach. Pre- and post- construction beach closure data will be included in the final analysis. Diversion cleanout data is maintained by the city. Historical data will be 3 Project Assessment and Evaluation Plan Agreement No. 10-XXX-XXX-XX 6/8/10– DRAFT combined with post-construction data to determine BMP bacteria and solids removal effectiveness.. ii. Pollution Source Categories: The pollution source categories targeted by this project include nuisance urban runoff from inefficient irrigation practices and high water use landscaping, high nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient loads, and high indicator bacteria loads in dry weather storm system flow. Nutrients and bacteria may be derived from the decomposition of organic matter, organic fertilizers, and fecal material from pets, livestock or wildlife that gets washed off the landscape by irrigation activity. Some forms of nitrogen may be derived from surfactants used for cleaning activities and from fertilizer carried in nuisance flows to the ocean. High bacteria levels in the ocean are linked to flows from storm drains which carry bacteria and nutrients to the coastal waters. Sedimentation from excessive erosion of the blufftops may be impacting the ASBS. Erosion is sources to heavy human traffic on unmaintained trails on the bluffs. Human impacts from touching and removing organisms from the tidepools may be causing disproportionally low numbers of some species in the ASBS. iii. Current BMP Activities: Currently, the project site incorporates fertilizer and pesticide use reduction BMPs. No BMPs are in place to attenuate or mitigate nuisance flows. Stormwater diversions are utilized upstream of the project area but the storm drains within the project boundaries drain untreated to the ocean. Some railings and fences exist to prevent climbing on the bluffs. A Marine Protection Officer patrols the tidepools to educate . iv. Proposed BMP Implementation: The BMPs implemented in the HP5 project include site design, treatment and diversion. The site design BMPs include regrading and recontouring of the land within the project boundaries to direct storm flows away from the beach. The innovative site design includes tilted pathways, curbs, contoured swales and terraces built with retaining walls to contain sediments and push surface flows into the treatment control BMPs. Smarttimers, water efficient sprinkler heads and drought tolerant vegetation will reduce bacteria-carrying nuisance flows by reducing on-site water waste. The treatment control BMPs are vegetated areas where flows will infiltrate for plant use and be filtered through vegetation to remove nutrients and bacteria. Handrails, walkways and fencing will channel visitors to the beach using designated pathways. Interactive signs will educate visitors on tidepool etiquette and ASBS regulations. v. Effectiveness Evaluation: Once the BMPs are in place within the study areas, a round of bacteria and flow monitoring will take place. The post-construction phase of the project will include flow monitoring, water sampling and analysis for fecal indicator bacteria (Total coliform, Fecal coliform and Enterococcus) levels for a period of one year at the location of the diversion pump. This will allow the quantification of the actual amount of bacteria diverted from the coastal waters to 4 Project Assessment and Evaluation Plan Agreement No. 10-XXX-XXX-XX 6/8/10– DRAFT the sewer line. Diversion performance will also be measured by the amount of debris and sediment removed from the units. Flow will be measured by counting pump cycles in the project diversions. The effectiveness of the Smarttimer installation and irrigation improvements will be evaluated through a comparison of pre- and post-construction water usage utilizing water meter data for a period of one year after construction ceases. vi. Flow Pattern Changes: The changes in flow pattern expected as a result of this project are an elimination of dry-weather nuisance flow volume in the diverted storm drains and outfall pipe, a reduction in wet weather runoff to the ocean in low flow rain events and increased percolation of rainwater into landscaped areas. Flow reductions are predicted to be up to 100% for irrigation surface runoff and nuisance flows. vii. Economic Benefits: The direct economic benefits of the project will be a reduction in water costs for the City. The City will also benefit because reducing the bacteria load to the beach will help meet future TMDL obligations. The region will benefit from a reduction in the amount of water imported from outside the County. Reduced dry-weather flows and associated bacterial pollution will enhance water quality along the beaches, encouraging increased tourism and visitation to coastal communities. MONITORING TASKS AND ACTIVITIES 1. Provide for monitoring project and contracts administration. 2. Develop the Quality Assurance Project Plan, Monitoring Plan, and Project Assessment and Evaluation Plan 3. Collect pre-construction baseline data. Collect and assemble historical ocean water bacteria data for the project impacted area from the County of Orange. Obtain historical water usage data for the pre-construction baseline monitoring period from the Laguna Beach Water District for the water meter feeding the irrigation system within the project area. Over five years of historical data have been collected as part of the Phase I and II monitoring processes. 4. Construct BMPs, irrigation system improvements and restrooms as designed in the project plans. 5. Collect Post-Construction Data. Install, operate and maintain pump cycle counting devices in the diversion sump pumps. Measure the amount of water pumped flow per pump cycle to calibrate the method. Collect periodic samples of water from the diversion sump to be analyzed by the laboratory for fecal indicator bacteria. Obtain water meter data for the post-construction monitoring period for the irrigation system within the project area. Track field crew diversion cleaning data. 5 Project Assessment and Evaluation Plan Agreement No. 10-XXX-XXX-XX 6/8/10– DRAFT Data from Phase III monitoring will be integrated into the larger data set to get a macro view of the positive impacts of the project. 6. Analyze the data and prepare the final report. 7. Project tasks fall into the Load Reduction and the Planning, Research, Monitoring and Assessment categories. PROJECT GOALS AND DESIRED OUTCOMES The main goals of the project are to: 1. Reduce the amount of water consumed for landscape irrigation; 2. Reduce irrigation runoff to the ASBS; 3. Contribute to achieving load reductions for bacteria and nutrients in the ASBS; 4. Reduce trash and debris loads reaching the ASBS; 5. Reduce blufftop erosion and sedimentation of the ASBS; 6. Reduce human impacts on the ASBS. The desired outcomes of the project are: 1. Installation of Smarttimers and irrigation distribution system improvements throughout the project area; 2. Documentation of the relative effectiveness of the BMP installation by conducting field flow measurements and evaluating pre- and post-project water usage in the project area. 3. Evaluation of BMP effectiveness assessment through laboratory analyses of bacteria loads in the diversion sumps; 4. Diversion of nuisance flows and associated bacteria from the project area drainage system’s ASBS discharge point into the sanitary sewer system; 5. Assessment of the amount of debris, volume of flow and concentration of bacteria diverted from the ASBS; 6. Prevention of additional blufftop erosion; 7. Reduction of trampling and collecting activities in the ASBS; 6 Project Assessment and Evaluation Plan Agreement No. 10-XXX-XXX-XX 6/8/10– DRAFT 8. Assessment of the relative effectiveness of the project in reducing bacteria levels in the adjacent ocean water; and 9. Evaluation of the impacts of the project on Beach closures in the project vicinity. II. PROJECT PERFORMANCE MEASURES TABLES 7 Table 1 Project Performance Measures for the Heisler Park ASBS Protection and Preservation Project – Phase II Project Goals Desired Outcomes 1. Reduce bacterial load from Heisler Park to the ASBS with water conservation measures Reduce water consumption at the project sites by installing a SmarTimer and irrigation improvements. 2. Reduce bacterial/pollutant load from Heisler Park to the ASBS by eliminating dryweather landscape irrigation and nuisance runoff to the ocean from the project area. 3. Reduce bacterial/pollutant load from Heisler Park to the ASBS using structural BMPs. Eliminate nuisance dry weather runoff by installing a SmarTimer, new irrigation system, structural BMPs and a diversion pump. Reduce fecal indicator bacteria loadings from the project area by installing structural and treatment control BMPs and diverting bacterialaden nuisance flows to the sewer system. Precise grading will direct flows through structural BMPs prior to entering drains. Output Indicators Outcome Indicators Measurement Tools and Methods a. Water meter readings. b. Comparison of four years historical water use data to one year of postconstruction water use data. Targets a. Installation of the SmarTimer. b. Number of low water use sprinkler heads installed. c. Length of new irrigation piping installed. a. Installation of the timer and irrigation improvements. b. Installation of structural BMPs. c. Installation of diversion sump and pump. Pre- and post-project water consumption decrease measured at site water meter (total, average). a. Install all irrigation equipment. c. Reduce monthly water consumption by an average of 10 – 20% for the project area. a. Pre- and post-project water consumption decrease measured at site water meter (total, average). b. Nuisance flow diverted to sanitary sewer. a. Water meter readings. b. Measurement of water volume diverted using pump volume data and cycling counts. a. 100% diversion of nuisance flow from the project stormwater ocean discharge pipe. Analysis of samples for indicator bacteria combined with diverted flow data and beach water quality bacteria data. a. Bacteria concentrations in and volume of diverted nuisance flows. b. Decrease in bacteria levels in the adjacent ocean water c. Decrease in the number of beach closures adjacent to the project area. Standard Methods for Wastewater Analysis SM 9222-B, SM 9222-D and SM 9230-C. Postconstruction water samples will be taken from the diversion sump. a. Successful analysis of 100% of scheduled samples. b. Measurable bacteria concentration reduction in nearby ocean waters during dry weather conditions. c. 100% diversion of nuisance flow from the project stormwater ocean discharge pipe. Project Goals Desired Outcomes Output Indicators Outcome Indicators 4. Prevent further blufftop erosion. Channel Park visitors to designated pathways, prevent sheet flows over blufftops Blufftop erosion ceases at the point of project final grading. 5. Reduce bacterial load from Heisler Park to the ocean by reducing wet weather runoff. Reduce wet weather runoff from Heisler Park as a result of implementing structural BMPs. 6. Reduce human impacts on the tidepools in the ASBS. Stop collection and disturbance of tidepool organisms. New handrails, fencing and pathways push visitors to designated beach access points, new walkways with curbing force sheet flows into BMPs Precise grading will direct flows through structural BMPs prior to entering drains. As the project progresses, additional BMPs will come online. Five new tidepool etiquette/regulations signs with interactive elements. Measurement Tools and Methods Photographs taken before and after. Targets a. Erosion is halted at targeted points b. No new pathways are created to the beach. Pre- and post-construction runoff rate and volume decreases as a function of rainfall intensity and total amounts. Analysis of wet weather bacteria data in the adjacent ocean waters. Measurable bacteria concentration reduction in nearby ocean waters during wet weather flows. Visitors read and interact with signs, observe posted rules. Public survey Measurable increase in awareness of ASBS rules/etiquette.