According to the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, the waters in the Marina del Rey marina are quickly becoming "too toxic an environment to sustain many of the organisms that inhabit it," reports the Argonaut. Of all the awfulness in the water (DDT?!), the most predominant toxin, copper, comes from the marina's boats themselves, which are treated with a copper-based paint that flakes off during cleanings. Boat owners were asked to switch paints last month, but balked at the costs of the alternatives (as much as $8,000 per boat), which they say are also less effective than what they're using now—although not in the "not poisoning the water" arena. The per-boat cost seems downright affordable when compared to the front-runner among state-recommended solutions: dredging the marina using a method that would cost $200 million and take about 10 years to complete. Last year, the entrance to the harbor at Marine del Rey was dredged so that all the boats could maneuver more easily, but it used another method (one that unfortunately wouldn't work this time); that whole thing was successful and cost just $13 million.
· State board proposes dredging Marina del Rey: Pollution from copper boat paint is damaging the environment and there's no easy solution in sight [Argonaut Online]
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