Three weeks after the county closed Bolinas Beach due to effluent flowing down from the Big Mesa, some locals say all the media hype has not helped. “Part of what this story is becoming is the sensationalization and exploitation of a situation that is serious and important—and is not being helped by fake news,” said Annie O’Connor, director of the Bolinas Community Land Trust. A Daily Mail headline this week claimed, “Popular Bay Area beach could be closed for three years after disgusting discovery: ‘It’s as gross as it sounds.’” The article was paired with a photograph of Stinson Beach. Yet the coverage has had tangible effects on the town. “Initially, the news was met with anticlimactic resignation, but you can really see the shift in behavior here in Bolinas,” she said. “For the most part, the beach and water are eerily empty. I don’t think we’ve ever witnessed anything like this in the history of the community. It’s heartbreaking because the beach has always been our town square. We’ve lost our public gathering place.” Longtime Bolinas resident Jennie Pfeiffer stressed the need for a septic education campaign. “I’m glad the county is paying attention,” she said, “but if they want to get a handle on this, they ought to educate people on how to properly maintain their septic systems.” To update locals on the latest information, the county has scheduled a virtual town hall next Wednesday, Oct. 2. Dr. Lisa Santora of Health and Human Services and Chris Choo of the Community Development Agency will provide an update, discuss the public and environmental health implications, and address the community’s pressing questions. Inspectors on Sept. 6 uncovered several locations along a mile-and-a-half stretch of Big Mesa bluff face where raw wastewater was seeping, with some sites releasing up to 10 gallons of wastewater per minute. “Three of those sources alone would result in roughly 43,000 gallons of wastewater flowing into the ocean daily,” Sarah Jones, the director of the Community Development Agency, said at a recent community meeting. The county has not set a timeline for reopening the beach, but ocean water samples taken last week showed bacterial levels more than double the state standards for safe recreational use. A webpage on the closure will be updated weekly at https://www.marincounty.gov/programs/Bolinas-Wastewater. To register for the Oct. 2 meeting, go to https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86587982876?pwd=qW5OCcbV8BpSiJ9gRBhy3h2yL5XbFt.1.
County to hold town hall on Bolinas Beach closure
