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The
first Beach Report Card (BRC) Heal the Bay published
in 1990 covered 60-plus monitoring locations in Los
Angeles County from Leo Carrillo Beach to Cabrillo Beach
in Los Angeles County. At the time, beachgoers knew
little about the health risks of swimming in polluted
waters or the water quality at any of their favorite
beaches in Los Angeles County. Beach water quality was
a public issue only when a substantial sewage spill
occurred. Although beaches were routinely monitored,
the data were either inaccessible or not usable by the
public. Since then, much work has been done to address
the issue of urban runoff and sewage spills at our local
beaches. Scientific studies such as the Santa Monica
Bay Restoration Project's Epidemiological Study on swimmers
at runoff polluted beaches and the Southern California
Coastal Waters Research Project's Bight-wide shoreline
bacteria and laboratory inter-calibration study have
been completed. Legislation, such as the statewide beach
bathing water standards and public notification bill
(AB-411), and the protocol for identifying sources of
fecal indicator bacteria at high-use beaches that are
impacted by flowing storm drains (AB-538) have been
passed and implemented. Capital developments, such as
the upgrade of the Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant,
dry weather diversions, and Clean Beach Initiative projects
have been constructed. In this same time period, Heal
the Bay's Beach Report Card has grown in coverage, expanding
from Los Angeles County to all of California (where
monitoring programs exist), and is now essential reading
for the over 100 million people that annually visit
California beaches.
The
13th Annual BRC summarizes the results of beach water
quality monitoring programs throughout California, from
Del Norte County south to San Diego County, over the
last 12 months (April 2002 - March 2003). The summary
includes an analysis of water quality during dry and
wet weather conditions, a brief review of proposed Clean
Beach Initiative projects, and a review of the number
of sewage spills that impacted recreational waters over
the past year. The information derived from this analysis
is used to develop recommendations for solving water
quality impairments at problem beaches. The report also
includes updates on issues that have an impact on beach
water quality, such as legislation, regulatory programs
and scientific studies. The updates are followed by
Heal the Bay's recommendations for the coming year for
improving water quality and expanding public education.
The
BRC covers 300 locations (450-plus from April to
October)
from Del Norte County south to San Diego County on
a weekly basis, updated every Friday. Heal the Bay
hopes
that California beachgoers will use the information
before they go to any beach in the State, in order
to
better protect their health and the health of their
families. The weekly California BRC is available
in
print and at Heal the Bay's web site, www.healthebay.org.
The
Report Card should be used like the SPF ratings in sunblock
- beachgoers should determine what they are comfortable
with in terms of relative risk, and then make the decisions
necessary to protect their health.
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