Guildenstern Traditional Cache
Kosh Naranek: As there has been no action to remedy this situation, I am forced to archive this cache. If you wish to repair/replace the cache sometime in the immediate future, just contact one of your local reviewers and assuming that it meets the current guidelines, it can be unarchived.
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Please replace lid firmly. Caution: Inside the fence is buffer zone between the public beach and a bird-nesting area (Least Terns, by the way). Do not disturb. Lots of muggles going to the beach along a path just W of the cache, so be stealthy ...
If you do not have a parking pass for Cal State Parks to use the nearby parking lot, you can get to the cache from the bike path that runs along Pacific Coast Highway from Newport Beach to Seal Beach (or you can pay the parking fee [$18?])
The cache is located next to a nesting area for Least Terns that was constructed by Orange County for mitigation of habitat loss due to construction of the wastewater treatment plant to the north. The plant is a large complex along the Santa Ana River. On May 2, 2010, 'rejuvenated' the cache based on comments that it was wet. Enjoy!
Checked 5 July 2010. OK. Please replace lid firmly.
Treated wastewater from the plant (and some partially treated wastewater) is discharged _directly_ into the ocean through a long pipe offshore from the Santa Ana R. Scientists considered the pipeline as a potential source of elevated bacteria during a period of beach closures due to bacteria several years ago. We believe that DNA (and other data) showed that the bacteria were most likely coming from the wetlands when the flow through them surpassed their capacity.
Unfortunately, treatment of wastewater does not remove or destroy many pollutants in the sewage from being flushed down drains, industrial discharges, and other sources. Cleanup of gasoline in groundwater by air stripping left MTBE in the stripped water and it was usually discharged to the sewer -- The same thing for 1,4-dioxane in chlorinated solvents. Worse is the fact that through disinfection of treated sewage using chlorine, the Sanitation District purposely produces chloramines, toxic cancer-causing compounds, and all these things go into the groundwater through huge ponds along the Santa Ana River upstream. So, cheers!
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