Even the Pico-Kenter storm drain area has been thankfully cleaned and the enormous amount of #beachtrash there has been cleaned up.
So there is hope... maybe.....
I say maybe because we've witnessed the occasional or rare instance where the beach has been cleaned along the water's edge in the past but that has always been followed by a long absence of any cleaning up of #beachtrash along the water's edge.
In any case, we are grateful that the beach along the water's edge was fairly clean this morning. This should not be the exception, however. The beach along the water's edge should regularly be cleaned of #beachtrash. The City collects both beach parking fees and hotel taxes and the City is obliged to clean up the #beachtrash along the water's edge after all. The City is not entitled to collect such revenues and ignore the #beachtrash along the water's edge.
My last comment today is that it appears no one from the City walked the water's edge and hand picked up #beachtrash this morning in spite of the fact that the beach is fairly clean. The following photos demonstrate and reveal that there is still open and obvious #beachtrash along the water's edge that could have and should be picked up by the City of Santa Monica.
Here are the photos I took today of the #beachtrash uncollected and not disposed of by the City of Santa Monica to date:
First off, notice the tractor and rake evidence below. This is merely an example of the principal manner in which the City of Santa Monica cleans the beach and which does not include the water's edge.
Below, plastic debris uncollected. It's not hard to see it, eh?!...
Plastic bottles discarded on the sand... Again, this is open and obvious. Why hasn't it been picked up by the City of Santa Monica? How long will it remain here?
A discarded plastic bottle that is clearly visible remains along the water's edge. Why?!...
Because no one from the City has bothered to walk along the water's edge today.
Below, a good image showing that the beach beside the Santa Monica is fairly clean today...
How did the City miss this heavy piece of wood?...
Below, plastic #beachtrash right out in the open and obvious along the water's edge. If someone from the City had walked the beach along the water's edge today this would have certainly been observed and collected... just sayin'...
The photo below shows both that the beach is fairly clean today, as well as the track marks of the tractor and rake that cleans above the berm and just beyond the water's edge. The City has indicated that they do not use the tractors along the water's edge for ecological reasons and that the City has staff that walk the water's edge and hand pick up the #beachtrash... I have found that this is not the case, however, and that the City does NOT either daily or regularly have its staff walk the water's edge and hand pick up the #beachtrash. Indeed, today's photos support this position.
Below, a discarded plastic cup along the water's edge that is right out in the open and obvious and which remains uncollected.....
The photo immediately above and below again show the demarcation line where the City tractor and rake stop at the berm leaving the beachtrash along the water's edge to be picked up by staff that are supposed to walk the beach and hand pick it up...
Below, a plastic bag along the water's edge that is right out in the open and very much visible and very much uncollected and disposed of by the City of Santa Monica...
On the other hand, the beach is thankfully fairly clean and look at just how gorgeous it can be when it is clear of #beachtrash...
Below: Is it just me or are you too seeing RED?!...
If the shoe fits...
Below: Is that plastic #beachtrash or a sand crab's beach chair?...
Below: Wow! What a difference since this past weekend!!! Look at the Pico-Kenter storm drain area. It has, in fact, been cleaned of the staggering amount of #beachtrash that spoiled this section of the beach for many weeks.
Today we can honestly say that the beach at the Pico-Kenter Storm Drain is fairly clean... so much so that you could put a fork in it... which somebody apparently did.....
Below, the Pico-Kenter Storm Drain runoff and pond looking sublime in the grey to clearing skies...
Below: Not the last straw, no doubt, but there is reason to hope.....
Below: Does anyone have trouble seeing this plastic bag along the water's edge?...
Just above and below, the tracks of the tractors and rakes just above the berm and beyond the water's edge adjacent to Bay St. and lifeguard tower 20...
Below, #beachtrash at the water's edge uncollected today...
Another straw: told ya so...
Below, a sign warning of polluted warning following the recent rains...
More #beachtrash and debris at water's edge left uncollected....
Below: Wouldn't it be Fantastic if this straw could suck all the #beachtrash off the beach along the water's edge?!... Answer: maybe in a pipe dream or on another planet...
Below: Happy to see the area adjacent to the Pico-Kenter storm drain along the water's edge looking fairly clean today!...
... nevertheless, there is visible plastic debris and other types of #beachtrash along the water's edge that remains uncollected principally because no one has walked the beach today to pick it up.
Yes, there is reason to be hopeful and grateful, at least today..... Time will tell if the City is going to start regularly cleaning the beach along the water's edge. I will keep auditing this issue because the public deserves to have safe (and clean) beach access. This is, after all, a public beach. It is owned by the citizens of the State of California. It is, in fact, a State of California Beach. The City merely has an operating agreement with California State Parks to maintain this beach. In return the City gets to collect beach parking fees and taxes to pay for the privilege of maintaining this beach. In this regard, it is not unreasonable to expect the City to live up to its obligations and to regularly clean up the massive and staggering amounts of #beachtrash which plague the beaches in Santa Monica.
Additionally, the State of California and specifically the California State Parks Department (Cal State Parks) needs to step up it's own enforcement of the Operating Agreement with the City of Santa Monica and demand that the City regularly clean up the #beachtrash along the water's edge. And Cal State Parks needs to audit our beaches in Santa Monica to make sure that the City lives up to its obligations.
Last but not least, as I have stated on numerous occasions in the past, my goal is to get the City to do its part in cleaning up the #beachtrash along the water's edge. That is my principal goal and the reason that I audit and blog about this issue regularly and tirelessly. After all, the beach should be as clean as it is outside of Santa Monica City Hall.
Respectfully submitted,
William Maguire,
Santa Monica business owner
(All photos by & Copyright William Maguire 2017)
*** *** ***
No comments:
Post a Comment