Cardiff Reef Crap

 

Interesting article in the North County Times (a.k.a UT North) this week. Seems as though the old San Elijo Lagoon (i.e. the one that sits inland between Seaside Reef and Cardiff Reef) used to be a dump for the old-timers. If you wondered why the water coming out of the creek at Cardiff stinks sometimes, now you know (actually it's the water treatment plant upstream but that's a whole other story). Doug Gibson, a scientist and executive director of the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy was snorkeling up the lagoon (you read that right) and came across the old trash heap. Don't worry- the culprits are probably dead by now since the trash heap may date back 60 years (or God has struck them down with lightening), but it's still interesting nonetheless- like the wagon wheel he found. Here's the full story:

An underwater pile of discarded car engines, tires and hot water heaters recently discovered at the San Elijo Lagoon will be removed Saturday during a statewide Coastal Cleanup Day, officials said.
The decades-old dumpsite was found by Doug Gibson, a scientist and executive director of the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy, during a research expedition several months ago near the north shore of the lagoon. The waterway straddles the city limits of Encinitas and Solana Beach. Gibson was snorkeling along a fast-moving water channel observing fish when he passed over a pile of old car engines, two motor scooters, and other debris, he recalled Wednesday. "It was shocking," Gibson said. "It's just one of those relics of a mindset of how we used to treat these areas." The dumping took place before the lagoon ecological reserve was established in the early 1980s, and may date back to the 1950s, Gibson said. He added that it's highly unlikely the culprits will be found, given how old the items are and how long they've been sitting in the salt water. Parts of the dumpsite were visible during low tide Wednesday, just south of a small hilltop near Manchester Avenue's intersection with San Elijo Avenue. Years ago, when the lagoon region was very rural and the freeway didn't exist, that hilltop must have been a convenient place for people who wanted to secretly rid themselves of large, unwanted items, Gibson said. All they would have had to do was to give a little push and their trash would fall off the cliff. These days, there's a grove of acacia trees along the roadway and no lagoon trails pass through the area, so it's hidden from public view. Gibson said he has snorkeled up the center of the water channel on other research trips, but missed the trash pile. "This stuff really isn't in the middle of the channel, it's near the bank ... submerged so you don't see it," he said. The cleanup is being paid for through a $20,000 grant, provided from a pool of money administered by the state's Water Resources Control Board. People pay fines into the fund when they're caught illegally dumping items, Gibson said, adding, "This is a perfect use of that fund." State water quality officials referred questions about the grant to their San Diego regional office; officials there couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday. Gibson said that it's not unusual to find long-discarded items in the lagoon reserve, but "we've never really seen this level of material."

On Saturday morning ---- as thousands of volunteers across the state participate in Coastal Cleanup Day ---- divers working with a barge provided by Marathon Construction expect to remove at least 13 pieces of old vehicles and other machinery from the dumpsite. "We're going to go after the big pieces and anything else we can find to pick up in there," Gibson said. In addition to the old metal machinery, there's also what looks to be an old wooden wagon wheel. If that doesn't fall apart on its trip to the surface, the lagoon conservancy may display it near the nature center, Gibson said. But he's not keeping his fingers crossed that they'll find any items that are worth money. "I doubt that there's going to be anything of any value ---- it's bits and pieces, (that's) really what it is," he said.