An Ocean Friendly Makeover

Landscaping project in Huntington Beach was a community partnership The community project is a partnership that included SCE and Surfrider Foundation.
Nov 2, 2015 11:00 AM ET

Edison's Online Newsroom

Greg Goran grew up surfing the waters off Huntington Beach. Over the past 35 years, he has seen a noticeable change in the water — it’s much dirtier.

“Urban runoff is the No. 1 source of ocean pollution and a primary reason why the water is so much dirtier now,” he said.

Goran decided he wanted to help prevent runoff from ever reaching the ocean. He joined the Huntington Beach Surfrider Foundation and is now chairman of the Ocean Friendly Gardens program, created to encourage the use of conservation and natural environmental features in landscaping.

Goran and Jeff Coffman, a fellow Surfrider colleague, came across a grassy lot surrounding Southern California Edison’s Hamilton substation, located two miles from the beach. It was covered in turf and required extensive watering and fertilizers to keep it green.

So, the duo approached SCE to see if there was interest in partnering to renovate the landscape and make it ocean friendly.

Read full story in Edison's Online Newsroom.

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