Storm Water Issues
San Diego Bay Watershed
The San Diego Bay Watershed is unique due to its dry Mediterranean climate and
The headwaters of the watershed being in the unincorporated area of the County and then transects all or portions of 7 cities, namely, San Diego, National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, Coronado, Lemon Grove, and La Mesa. Nearly half of the population of San Diego County lives and works in the San Diego Bay Watershed. And most of these people live and work in close proximity to San Diego Bay itself - certainly one of the finest natural resources in the region, the State, and the nation.
The San Diego Bay watershed is comprised of 3 hydrologic units, namely: the Pueblo San Diego, Sweetwater, and Otay hydrologic units (see map). Watershed management planning is a concept gaining hold throughout the San Diego region. It involves the identification of issues and concerns that are related more to the watershed in which they occur, rather than the municipality in which they are found. Watershed management planning is based on the recognition that problems that originate upstream are generally carried down-stream by the flow of water. Such planning considers everything from the transport of water pollutants to invasive species eradication efforts. It is more effective to cleanup problems up-stream at the source, rather than allow the flow of water to spread the problem down-stream for the length of the watershed.
For more information on local watershed planning efforts, please visit the County of San Diego's Project Clean Water Webpage. For more general information on watershed planning throughout the State, please visit the California Coastal Conservancy. For interactive information on the watersheds of the San Diego area, go to U.S. EPA, Region 9 Watershed Information.
Storm Water Management Program
The urbanized areas around San Diego Bay and throughout the San Diego Bay Watershed require continual efforts to reduce or eliminate sources of pollution that can be carried by rainfall runoff to the bay. The Storm Water Management Program of the Environmental Services Department is a major element of the Port of San Diego commitment to preventing, reducing, and eliminating the discharge of polluted storm water into San Diego Bay.
 Storm water runoff is a significant source of pollutants to the Bay. Everyday trash, litter and debris, sand, silt, and sediment, petroleum products leaking from motor vehicles, heavy metals in the dust from motor vehicle brake pads and diesel exhaust, animal feces, excess fertilizers and pesticides, and other pollutants are carried to the Bay by urban runoff as a result of rain or excessive irrigation, or other sources of water in the urban environment.
The major inputs of storm water to San Diego Bay include the Sweetwater River, Otay River, Switzer Creek, Chollas Creek, Paradise Creek, and all the surface runoff from downtown San Diego and other urbanized areas discharged through approximately 200 storm drain pipes.
The Port of San Diego is responsible for administering 5,400 acres of public tidelands in and around San Diego Bay. Nearly half of this acreage is underwater in the Bay itself. The other 2700 acres or so, includes portions of the cities of Chula Vista, Coronado, Imperial Beach, National City, and San Diego. The Port of San Diego and each of these cities is responsible for storm drain systems that discharge into San Diego Bay. Other portions of the tidelands are administered by the federal government (the US Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, US Fish and Wildlife Service, etc) or the State of California.
There are over 700 tenant leases and subleases in the Port tidelands, and the Environmental Services Department works with these tenants to prevent polluted storm water from enter San Diego Bay. In conjunction with the San Diego Coastkeeper, the Environmental Services Department has developed a brochure entitled "Preventing Stormwater Pollution, a Guide for Business." The brochure outlines Best Management Practices (BMPs) that businesses can implement to help stem the flow of pollutants into San Diego Bay. Additional information is available at the County of San Diego webpage on Business BMPs.
In addition to assisting tenants, the Environmental Services Department is responsible for implementing appropriate BMPs and for monitoring the quality of stormwater runoff from the San Diego International Airport, the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, the National City Marine Terminal, and the Cruise Ship Terminal. The Environmental Services Department also works with the Port General Services Department and Engineering Department to make sure that the Port's own stormwater conveyance system is clean and operational, and not contributing illegal discharges to San Diego Bay.
For additional information regarding other local stormwater management programs and concerns, see the following sites:
For additional information on stormwater issues across the State
of California and the nation, see:
Stormwater Ordinance
In order to ensure that the public and the businesses throughout the Port tidelands make the proper effort to help prevent stormwater pollution to San Diego Bay, the Port of San Diego used its police powers to adopt a Stormwater Ordinance. Article 10 of the San Diego Unified Port District Code was adopted by the Board of Port Commissioners on July 25, 2000 (Ordinance #2105 "Stormwater Management and Discharge Control"). Article 10 became effective on August 25, 2000. The ordinance is intended to be comprehensive in its scope. The ordinance addresses stormwater pollution prevention, pollutant source controls and treatment controls, runoff diversion, and the regulation of discharges to the Port-controlled storm drain system and/or the Bay. The ordinance is directed at educating the public about best management practices (BMPs), but also includes enforcement of general and specific prohibitions. To view the Stormwater Ordinance (Article 10) in PDF (10.2 MB) format click here.
Jurisdictional Urban Runoff Management Program (JURMP) 2006-2007 Annual Report
The Environmental Services Department has prepared this document in order to comply with the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board Order No. 2001-01 (NPDES Permit #CAS0108758) "Municipal Storm Water Permit.". The Document describes the Port's efforts to prevent pollution and urban runoff flow into the storm drain system from July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007.
Urban Runoff Action Plan
Enforcement of the Stormwater Ordinance is one element of the Port's broader efforts to assist in the protection of San Diego Bay's water quality from urban runoff and stormwater discharges. On September 19, 2000, the Board of Port Commissioners approved the adoption of the Urban Runoff Action Plan. The Urban Runoff Action Plan is designed to help protect San Diego Bay by implementing 13 separate elements. In addition to the Stormwater Ordinance, these elements cover a range of activities, including: compilation of complete and accurate information on the Port-owned stormwater conveyance system; evaluation of effective best management practices (BMPs); pilot projects to fill in gaps in scientific information; and design standards for new development projects. The Urban Runoff Action Plan has been reviewed by and received positive feedback from environmental non-governmental organizations, our member cities, Lemon Grove, La Mesa and the County of San Diego. The Urban Runoff Action Plan is designed to help provide the Port with the information necessary to improve the control of contaminated runoff and discharges into San Diego Bay. You can read the Urban Runoff Action Plan here.
Think Blue
 The Port of San Diego is a partner with the City of San Diego, the County of San Diego, and Caltrans in sponsoring the stormwater public education and outreach program called Think Blue. The outreach campaign uses a variety of media formats to provide the public with solutions for keeping stormwater pollutants out of our local creeks, bays, and the ocean. Please visit the Think Blue webpage to learn how you can help.
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