"First Flush" Event a Success!

In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, October 10, 2000, volunteers were out collecting samples of the water that was flowing off of city streets and into the storm drains that lead to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. It was the "First Flush." This term is used to describe the first significant rain of the season in which months of accumulated contaminants are washed into coastal waters. These contaminants include oils, bacteria, nutrients, metals, sediment, and numerous other chemicals that are discarded onto parking lots, streets and yards.

The First Flush was a pilot program initiated by the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Citizen Watershed Monitoring Network, with funding provided by the Sanctuary, the Cities of Pacific Grove and Monterey, the US EPA and the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. The Network was assisted by the Coastal Watershed Council in organizing and training over 40 volunteers to collect water samples at 12 different sites in the Cities of Monterey, Pacific Grove and Capitola, CA. These three cities were chosen because they have an existing Urban Watch program in which volunteers collect samples of urban runoff throughout the dry weather season each year.

For several weeks prior to the First Flush, the eight teams of volunteers were on call anxiously awaiting weather forecasts of rain. Team leaders carted their bucket of monitoring apparatus and foul weather gear everywhere they went. At the slightest hint of drizzle, they were on the phone, reporting to me their schedule and location. The excitement and dedication was amazing. And then it happened, what we had all been waiting for?a forecast that predicted rain, not drizzle or showers, but RAIN.

On Monday night, several team leaders and myself were in contact throughout the night, reporting the weather conditions at our respective houses and watching the radar pictures on the internet. At approximately 4:30 A.M. after doing some outfall reconnaissance, we decided to mobilize the First Flush volunteers. All were eagerly awaiting the phone call, one volunteer was already at her site doing her own reconnaissance. The folks at the Coastal Watershed Council were mobilizing the Capitola volunteers at exactly the same time.

It was dark, but unexpectedly pleasant. The rains had stopped, winds were light and adventure was in the air. The teams met at their assigned outfalls and went to work, holding the flashlights while recording measurements of water temperature, pH, conductivity and transparency. Then, labeling the sample bottles and filling them with storm water for later analysis in a certified laboratory. In the lab, the samples were tested for total coliform and E. coli., oil and grease, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, nitrate, orthophosphate, zinc, copper, lead and iron.

For a "pilot" project, the First Flush was a very successful event. We were able to mobilize 24 volunteers and collect water samples from all of the sites we had designated. We believe we collected the samples after enough rain had sufficiently flushed contaminants from our yards, parking lots and streets. And most importantly, we proved that citizens make a significant difference in their community through volunteering, providing quality data for environmental managers to make educated decisions and by educating others through their actions and concern for the environment.

A First Flush report will be published and distributed to local governments and agencies when the laboratory analysis is completed. If you are interested in volunteering to monitor water quality in your community, please contact (831) 883-9303 for more information.