On September 13th over 250 people attended a meeting at Long Beach Yacht Club on the Alamitos Bay’s water circulation. Third District Councilwoman Kristina Duggan, City staff and an AES representative provided an update to community members on the Alamitos Bay Water Quality Enhancement Project (ABWQEP).
Further, on September 26th the City Council was provided a presentation from its Climate, Environment and Coastal Protection Committee which reported plans to apply for a $73M grant to fund Alamitos Bay pump replacement through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Resilience Regional Challenge Grant. Applications are due to NOAA in February 2024.
We appreciate the Councilwoman, City staff and the Committee for their work and reports on replacement pump design progress; the status of funding; and information related to water quality in the Bay. It is however disappointing for many bay residents that the target date for pump replacement has been extended to 2028 (two years after permits for AES pump operations are scheduled to expire), and that the City is relying on uncertain grant funding rather than its infrastructure funds for this critical project.
As many Alamitos Bay residents know, the health of the bay is directly tied to AES pumping activities from the northeast end of the Bay into the San Gabriel River; and as City studies indicate, as AES pumps are phased out in 2026 water quality across the Alamitos Bay is anticipated to decline.
Residents are encouraged to review the meeting presentations and background materials available on the ABWQEP website at: longbeach.gov/abwqe and to follow Long Beach & Alamitos Bay water quality monitoring at: