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Heal
the Bay's 13th Annual Beach Report Card® provides
essential water quality information to the millions
of people who swim, surf, or dive in California coastal
waters. Essential reading for ocean users, the
report
card grades over 300 locations year-round (more than
400 locations in dry weather from April to October)
on an A-F scale based on the risk of adverse health
effects to swimmers and surfers. The grades are
based
on daily and weekly fecal bacteria pollution levels
in the surfzone. With the addition of Del Norte,
Humboldt,
and Mendocino counties in 2003, the Beach Report Card
program will now cover the entire state of California
from
Oregon to the Mexican border. The program has evolved
from an annual review of beaches in Santa Monica
Bay
to weekly updates of all monitored beaches throughout
California. All this information is available in
print
and at www.healthebay.org.
The
2002-2003 Annual Beach Report Card shows that most
beaches
had very good water quality, with 205 of 298 (69%)
locations receiving A grades for the year during
dry weather.
Also, there were 48 (16%) Bs, 18 (6%) Cs, seven (2%)
Ds and 20 (7%) Fs. Since the BRC expanded beyond
Los Angeles County four years ago, this year's 85%
ranks as the best year to date for California beaches.
Numerous California beaches vied
for the "Beach Bummer" crown this year (the monitoring
location with the poorest dry weather water quality).
The 10 finalists were: Malibu's Surfrider Beach in
Los Angeles County (10th), East Beach at Mission Creek
in
Santa Barbara County (9th), Capitola Beach, west of
the jetty in Santa Cruz County (8th), Cabrillo Beach,
harborside at the lifeguard tower in Los Angeles County
(7th), Campbell Cove State Park Beach at Bodega Bay
in Sonoma County (6th), Channel Island Harbor Beach
Park at Hobie Beach in Ventura County (5th), Baby
Beach
at Dana Point Harbor in Orange County (4th), Pacific
Beach at P.B. Point (downcoast of Linda Way) in San
Diego County (3rd), and the Visitor's Center (projection
of Clairemont Drive) and Campland on the Bay at Mission
Bay in San Diego County (2nd). For the second year
in a row, the winner of the dubious California "Beach
Bummer"
crown as the most polluted beach in California: Doheny
Beach from North Beach to Poche Beach in Orange County
(1st). Doheny Beach was awarded the
crown based on the beach area degraded (over a two-mile
stretch of beach) by poor water quality and the number
of annual visitors to the beach.
There
were a handful of water quality success stories throughout
the state this past summer. In particular, there
were three beaches that deserve recognition
because of significant water quality improvements.
Arroyo Quemada in Santa Barbara went from a perennial
poor water
quality
beach, having won the "Beach Bummer" crown for three-years
straight, to receiving a B this year. This dramatic
improvement
could be attributed to a best management practice implemented
at the Tajiguas Landfill. Although world famous Malibu
Surfrider Beach made the California Beach Bummer list
for the fourth consecutive year, Malibu Surfrider
Beach
received an A grade during the summer months, a first
in Beach Report Card history. The renowned beach had
excellent water quality from April to October, thanks
in part to the drought and the successful prohibition
of discharge from the Tapia Sewage Treatment Plant,
which limited the frequency of breaches at Malibu
Lagoon.
As for Avalon Beach on Catalina Island, water quality
has improved significantly with four of five locations
receiving an A or B grade. Water quality improvements
could be attributed to the City of Avalon's slip
lining (placing new sewer lines within existing lines)
their aged sewer lines, which were
found to be leaking to nearby beaches by University
of California at Irvine and University of Southern
California researchers.
As
in previous years, there continues to be a great
disparity
in water quality between dry and wet weather conditions.
Many counties (predominantly those north of Santa
Barbara
County) do not maintain their water quality monitoring
program throughout the year, severely reducing or
completely
discontinuing the program between November and March.
Of the 291 locations that are monitored during wet
weather,
64, or 22%, received very-good-to-excellent water quality
marks during wet weather, while 227 locations received
fair-to-poor water quality marks. Overall, 64% of the
monitoring locations received an F grade during
wet
weather, compared to only 7% during dry weather.
Heal
the Bay completed an analysis of Southern California
data (Santa Barbara County to San
Diego County) to determine if there were significant
differences in water quality based on beach type.
From
our analysis, water quality at open-ocean beaches was
significantly better than water quality at those
beaches
impacted by storm drains or located within enclosed
bays or harbors. Approximately 88% of open ocean
beaches
received an A grade during dry weather for the year
compared to 71% at beaches impacted by a storm drain,
and 44% at beaches found within an enclosed bay,
harbor
or marina. In fact, during the AB-411 time-period when
most beachgoers were be in the water, 98% of open-ocean
beaches received an A or B grade compared to 90%
at
beaches impacted by a storm drain, and 70% at beaches
found within an enclosed bay, harbor or marina.
Despite
the state's economic slowdown, Governor Davis, Assembly-member
Fran Pavley, and California voters continue to make
beach water quality a priority for the state by
investing
in the protection of this resource. A total of $78
million has been allocated over the past three years
to the
Clean Beach Initiative, which will protect and restore
the health of some of California's most polluted
beaches.
This is the first significant allocation of funds to
protect the health of the over 100 million people
who visit
California's beaches each year. A number of projects
funded by the Clean Beach Initiative (CBI) have
been
implemented and are improving water quality at California
beaches, including Avalon Beach on Catalina Island,
Newport Dunes in Orange
County, and Moonlight
Beach
in San Diego County. There are a number of CBI related
projects scheduled
to be implemented this summer that should improve water
quality at local beaches including runoff diversions
at: Santa Monica Canyon and
Temescal Canyon at Will Rogers Beach, Venice Beach
at Windward Plaza, Dockweiler Beach at Imperial Hwy
and and Manhattan Beach at 27th Street in
Los Angeles County, and Baby Beach and Poche
Creek
in
Orange
County.
The
Beach Report Card is based on the routine monitoring
of beaches conducted by local health agencies and dischargers.
Water samples are analyzed for bacteria that indicate
pollution from numerous sources, including fecal waste.
The higher the grade a beach receives, the lower the
risk of illness to ocean users. The report is not designed
to measure the amount of trash or toxins found at beaches.
The Beach Report Card would not be possible without
the cooperation of all of the shoreline monitoring agencies
in the state.
Heal
the Bay believes the public has the right to know
the
water quality at their favorite beaches, and is proud
to provide Californians this information in an easy-to-understand
format. We hope that beachgoers will use this information
to make the decisions necessary
to protect their health.
County
health officials and Heal the Bay recommend that
beach
users never swim or surf within 100 yards of any flowing
storm drain, or in any coastal water during a rainstorm
and for
three days after the rainstorm has ceased. Storm drain
runoff can be the greatest source of pollution to
local
beaches,
flowing untreated to the coast and often contaminated
with motor oil, animal waste, pesticides, yard waste
and trash. After a rain, indicator bacteria counts
usually far exceed state health criteria for recreational
water
use.
For
more information, please log onto www.healthebay.org,
or call 1-800-HEAL BAY.
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