COSTA MESA — Ahead of Earth Day, Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris along with OC Coastkeeper hosted a river channel cleanup on Saturday, April 15, at the Santa Ana-Delhi Channel in Costa Mesa. Volunteers collected 1,625 pounds of trash ranging from large bulky items to bags, bottles, cigarettes and other micro plastics that would otherwise end up in the Upper Newport Bay and Pacific Ocean.
“The amount of trash we found at the channel was astounding.” said Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine). “Thank you to our volunteers who showed up full of energy and were working deep within the channel to cleanup. Their efforts helped prevent this trash from ending up in our coastal waters.”
Orange County waterways collect trash from inland communities via the county’s rivers and storm drains. If not intercepted, the pollution impacts our oceans and shorelines. Community cleanups are one of the best ways for the public to help prevent this debris from polluting the sea and harming marine wildlife. Over the years, hundreds of volunteers have participated in Assemblywoman Petrie-Norris’ beach and channel cleanups helping remove nearly 7,000 pounds of debris from the waterway and along the Orange County coast.
"This record-breaking wet season has caused tons of trash to pile up in our storm drain system," said Irene Cordero, program coordinator at Orange County Coastkeeper. "By cleaning up the channel, we can reduce stress on our trash capture systems and remove pollution before it impacts our coast."
By cleaning up the Santa Ana-Delhi channel, the volunteers helped protect one of California’s few remaining estuaries, Upper Newport Bay. The bay plays a vital role in our marine ecosystem and for local recreational uses.