Second round of La Jolla Cove cleanup begins Tuesday, Sept. 24

By Ashley Mackin

The second phase of cleanup at La Jolla Cove, implemented to minimize if not completely eliminate the stench emanating from cliffs laden with decaying bird excrement, started Tuesday, Sept. 24, and will continue through Friday, Sept. 27.

Bill Harris, San Diego public information officer with the Transportation and Stormwater Division, said keeping possible weather restrictions in mind, crews could be on site as late as Oct. 4.

Work will be limited to between 5:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. as in the first phase, Harris reported. While originally scheduled for early September, city-commissioned biologists had to confirm that nesting birds would not be disturbed by crew activity before Blue Eagle, the company contracted to clean the cliffs, could apply the second round of cleansing agent.

The bioactive cleaning agent, a non-pathogenic bacteria, “digests” bird droppings and other noxious organisms that have caused the ongoing smell.