A Hole in the water

By Neil Merrilees

3 reasons the Harbor District race is important this year.

Water Pollution First of all, put your coffee and blueberry muffin down. OK, is it out of sight? As you read this, someone in Pillar Point Harbor is probably emptying their sink or toilet into harbor water. How do we know this? Because water testing often turns up bacteria, and because there are people living on boats, with no sewer pipes connected to the shore. Pillar Point Harbor is currently one of the few harbors which allow livaboards, but there are no mobile pump out facilities, and no monitoring of boat holding tanks. Here is how other harbors in California are making sure their water is clean:
1. Not allowing livaboards (Coyote Point Marina), or
2. Providing mobile pump out boats that make regular documented rounds (Berkeley Marina)
3. Providing individual dockside sewer connections for livaboards (Sausalito), or
4. Monitoring livaboards with mandatory inexpensive non-toxic dye tablets placed in boat holding tanks. If they leak accidentally, or are flushed intentionally, the dye is visible in the surrounding water. (Avalon harbor, since 1988)
5. Monitoring water quality around slips. Our Harbor District is currently doing none of these. All of these alternatives cost money, which is why many marinas make the decision not to allow livaboards. I personally like the idea of living on a boat, but feel that if you invite people to move into your harbor, you need to provide the infrastructure necessary to make it safe, and minimize the environmental impact (and bad P.R.) Is this a priority for you? If you swim in the harbor, paddle in the harbor, or occasionally see children playing in the harbor, you may want to follow the Harbor District election.

Your Money Did you know, that as taxpayers in San Mateo County, you are paying for 60% of everything the Harbor District does? Out of an annual budget of about 7 million dollars spent on Pillar Point Harbor and Oyster Point Marina, over 4 million comes from our property taxes. Fees from slip rentals and building leases, bring in only 40% of the cost to maintain slips, buildings, and pay for the debt used to create slips and buildings. For every slip, every building, every parking lot and other amenity that the Harbor District provides, you (through your San Mateo County property taxes) are paying for 60%. Even if you don't own a boat. Every month. Are you interested yet?

Sand Pillar Point Harbor is quickly filling with sand, while our Beaches surrounding the harbor are losing sand. Coincidence? Harbor sand would normally travel down the coast to replenish County Beaches, except the Harbor breakwater is in the way. The sand gets stuck in the Harbor causing surrounding bluffs to be exposed to ocean waves. This puts our downstream beaches, roads, bikepaths, and neighborhoods at risk. The sand will have to be moved someday as the launching ramp is already partially unusable due to sand blockage. The County of San Mateo can't move the sand, it's not in their jurisdiction. The same can be said for the City of Half Moon Bay. The only agency that has the authority to apply for a permit to replenish our beaches with harbor sand is the Harbor District. Doesn't this sand belong to our coastal beaches? Every day we wait, our local beaches get smaller, and our bike-paths and roads are more at risk.

Sand, Sewage and $, three reasons to keep your eye on the Harbor District election this year, and into the future.