Chapters 1 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Refuge Resources
Water quality in Anaheim Bay is also influenced by past and present activities within the
watershed. Throughout the Santa Ana River Basin, urban development, streambed alteration, and
the removal of native vegetation from the floodways and floodplains have impacted water quality
within the primary drainage channels, as well as within downstream bays and estuaries. Two
major control channels, the Bolsa Chica channel and the East Garden Grove-Wintersburg channel,
drain into the Anaheim Bay/Huntington Harbour Complex. Water quality in Anaheim Bay is
affected by the storm water and urban runoff carried downstream within these two major flood
control channels. It is also affected by boats and boating related activities, atmospheric deposition,
agricultural runoff, and the loss of historical inputs (County of Orange 2000).
In 1989, the California State Legislature established the Bay Protection and Toxic Cleanup
Program. This program has four major goals: 1) protect present and future beneficial uses of the
bays and estuarine waters of California; 2) identify and characterize toxic hot spots; 3) plan for
toxic hot spot cleanup or other remedial or mitigation actions; and 4) develop prevention and
control strategies for toxic pollutants that will prevent creation of new toxic hot spots or the
perpetuation of existing ones within the bays and estuaries of the State. The Regional Toxic Hot
Spot Cleanup Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin (Santa Ana RWQCB 1998), which provides
direction for the remediation or prevention of toxic hot spots in the Santa Ana Region, identifies
portions of Anaheim Bay as candidate toxic hot spots for sediment toxicity. This cleanup plan
defines toxic hot spots as areas in enclosed bays, estuaries, or adjacent waters where the
contamination affects the interests of the state and where hazardous substances have accumulated
in the water or sediment to levels which 1) pose a substantial present or potential hazard to aquatic
life, wildlife, fisheries or human health; 2) adversely affect the beneficial uses of bay, estuary or
ocean waters as defined in water quality control plans; or 3) exceed adopted water quality or
sediment quality objectives (Santa Ana RWQCB 1998).
The candidate toxic hot spots in Anaheim Bay include four sites within the Refuge and an
additional site that is located within NWSSB. Specific information regarding each of these sites is
provided in Table 4-2. Toxic hot spots are ranked based on the degree to which they impact human
health and aquatic life; how often established water quality objectives are exceeded; and the
likelihood that the site could improve without intervention. A work plan for cleanup of these
problem areas is partly implemented through the Bay Protection and Toxic Cleanup Program
(mandated under California Water Code Sections 13390-13396). In addition, Anaheim Bay (inland
of Pacific Coast Highway) and Huntington Harbour are both designated as no discharge areas for
vessel sanitary wastes. Pump out facilities are in place throughout Huntington Harbour to
facilitate compliance (Santa Ana RWQCB 1995). The County of Orange’s general stormwater
permit also requires the implementation of best management practices (BMPs) and other
measures in the watershed to control the introduction of pollutants into the watershed to the
maximum extent practicable.
Water quality issues in and around Anaheim Bay are addressed in the Water Quality Control Plan
(Basin Plan) for the Santa Ana River Basin (Santa Ana RWQCB 1995). The State Water
Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board
(RWQCB or Regional Board) are responsible for the protection and, where possible, the
enhancement of the quality of the waters within the Santa Ana River Basin, including Anaheim
Bay and Huntington Harbour. The Basin Plan for the Santa Ana River Basin, which forms the
basis for the Regional Board’s regulatory programs, establishes water quality standards for the
ground and surface waters of the region. The term “water quality standards,” as used in the Clean
Water Act, includes both the beneficial uses of specific water bodies and the levels of quality which
must be met and maintained to protect those uses. In order to evaluate whether water quality is
adequate in a specific location, the Basin Plan identifies specific thresholds for designated
Draft Comprehensive Conservation Plan/Environmental Assessment 4-23