Polluted runoff into the storm drain

The issue

The property owner pressure-washes the complex trash enclosure and pushes dirty runoff carrying food waste, grease, and detergent out into the street toward the storm drain. Storm drains are not treated. Everything that enters them flows directly to the protected reserve and the ocean.

The code

San Diego prohibits discharging anything but rain into the storm drain system, which includes streets, curbs, and gutters (§43.0304(a)). Wash water from pressure washing must be contained, captured, and disposed of to the sanitary sewer or landscaping, never the street. The rule applies to the property owner, tenant, or contractor alike, and penalties run up to $10,000 per day per incident.

Evidence

The trash enclosure is pressure-washed and the polluted water is turned out into the street, running toward the storm drain.

Annotated panorama tracing runoff from the dumpster enclosure across the parking area to the storm drain at the street corner. — The path the runoff follows: from the dumpster enclosure, across the dining and parking area, and down the gutter to the storm drain at the corner.

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