Resident alleges ongoing 'black water' dumping at harbor; city staff cite recent testing

During the communications-from-the-public portion of the Feb. 18 meeting, James Johnson told the council he believes harbor "black water" dumping and related odor issues persist and that public records he obtained did not show recent testing. He urged the council to adopt a written enforcement protocol, ensure consistent water testing and create a collaborative framework for accountability among harbor staff, boaters and city officials.

Johnson said absence of complaints does not mean absence of a problem and called for regular testing and transparent enforcement. He provided slides and requested the council commit to a collaborative plan to address ongoing concerns.

Assistant/Director Manny Borrego (title given during the exchange) responded that water-utility staff conducted recent testing in response to concerns, sampling four harbor locations about two weeks earlier and finding no contaminant levels that exceeded action thresholds. Borrego said historically the city tested annually in advance of the Ironman competition but acknowledged community expectations for more frequent testing. He said the apparent absence of records in a public-records search may be because the search closed before the most recent round of testing and agreed to provide the requester with the latest results.

Council members urged staff to consider more frequent testing to reassure the public and to provide the requester with the referenced records. Borrego said he is coordinating with Harbor Director Joe Ravich on testing protocols and enforcement steps.

"Dumping waste into the harbor is a crime," Johnson said. "This is about public safety, environmental responsibility and the reputation of our harbor and our city."