Heal the Bay Founder Dies

Dorothy Green, founder of Heal the Bay, died Oct. 13 at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 79.

From her first gathering Santa Monica residents concerned about the health of the ocean in 1985, Green created Heal the Bay, an organization that became one of the leading water quality watchdogs in California.

Heal the Bay first successfully advocated to have the Los Angeles Hyperion and Carson sewage treatment plants comply with the federal Clean Water Act. The group also devised the Beach Report Card, providing water quality grades for more than 500 beaches statewide.

“Dorothy Green was simply the most influential water quality activist in California for the last 30 years,” said Mark Gold, her protégé and current president of Heal the Bay. More of Gold's thoughts about Dorothy can be read in his blog.

A public memorial service will be held Thursday, October 16, 2008 at 2 p.m. at Mount Sinai Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to Heal the Bay, the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council or California Water Impact Network.