SAN DIEGO, May 5 --The testing being conducted by the City of San Diego for sources of pollution off the coast is of a high quality, Paul K. Dayton, marine scientist with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, told the Metro Wastewater JPA today. Dr. Dayton reported on the comprehensive study of current monitoring practices conducted for the City by a team of scientists from Scripps and other institutions. Dayton said that ocean-water quality off San Diego is a regional issue not limited to the area near the Point Loma Ocean Outfall. He cited emissions from Mexico, the Navy, and the South Bay Outfall, and pollutants from inside San Diego Bay and from an offshore dump site known as LA5. The study team suggested wider regional monitoring, including coverage of deep offshore canyons. Much particulate matter drifts into these canyons, which he said aren't currently being monitored. The report also said that ocean water eddies and circulates much differently in the San Diego Region than it does off Orange County and Los Angeles and that those areas do not offer useful monitoring models for San Diego. The Metro JPA formed an ad hoc committee to look into the possibility of a regional body taking over the monitoring. Councilmembers Frank Tierney of Coronado, Henry Abarbanel of Del Mar, and Mayda Winter of Imperial Beach comprise the committee.
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