Treatment wetlands seen as a viable opportunity on the coast By MATT KAPKO Half Moon Bay Review April 6, 2005 Urban runoff is not a recent phenomenon, but more and more it's being blamed for a devastating impact on coastal habitat. The Coastside is no exception. Half Moon Bay planners aren't sitting idle while the problem worsens, however. The Local Coastal Program update has given the city the perfect opportunity to address the issue now. Planners here have drafted policies to allow for an innovative, burgeoning solution for water runoff - treatment wetlands. "At this point we're just setting the policy framework for it," city of Half Moon Bay Planning Director Jack Liebster said. "We want to set up the basic allowance for doing it," he said. The city is hardly touring untamed waters. Treatment wetlands are increasingly popping up along California's coast. The research that's already been done and the proven success of treatment wetlands essentially provides the city with the backing it needs to boost such an idea. The Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary on the northeastern edge of Humboldt Bay was one of the first of its kind. The constructed wetland wastewater treatment system, completed by 1986, continues to attract visitors from around the globe, hoping to learn from the project's success. The goal there was to create and maintain a vibrant wetland that could continue to support wildlife and habitat while also doubling as a water treatment facility. Liebster envisions a similar treatment wetland in Half Moon Bay that could cleanse urban runoff before it enters the fragile beaches that border the Coastside. Some of the city's infrastructure could easily lend itself to such a project, he said. The city's series of drainage swales could not only convey water directly to a treatment wetland, but also cleanse runoff along the way if vegetation was planted in the path of the runoff, he said. "It's all a cumulative cleansing that happens," he said. "We have a situation of what's old is new again," he said. "Drainage ditches were sort of the old way of doing things and now they're the new way of doing things." The city's plans haven't progressed to the point of realization, but Liebster hopes the LCP will clearly indicate the city's support of such a project and willingness to at least investigate its potential. "We really have to do a lot more," he said. Likewise, Liebster is hesitant to list specific sites where a treatment wetland could be used. "We have significant open areas in the city that might have potential," he said. The city's planning staff has drafted policies supportive of treatment wetlands in the LCP's "constructed habitats and constructed wetlands" section under policy 3-1 B. The Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss that policy among many others at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Ted Adcock Senior/Community Center. Home