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The
first Beach Report CardSM (BRC) Heal the Bay published
in 1990 covered 60-plus monitoring locations in Los
Angeles County from Leo Carrillo Beach to Cabrillo
Beach. 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 was
either inaccessible or unusable to 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
Water 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 (AB411), and the protocol for identifying sources of fecal indicator bacteria
at high-use beaches that are impacted by flowing
storm drains (AB538) have been passed and implemented.
Capital developments,
such as the upgrade of the Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility, 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 beachgoing public.
The
14th Annual BRC summarizes the results of beach water
quality monitoring programs throughout
California, from Del Norte County to San Diego County, over the last 12 months
(April 2003 - March 2004). 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. These updates are followed by Heal the
Bay's
recommendations for the coming year for improving
water quality and expanding public education.
In
the 2003-2004 Annual BRC, there is exciting news
for surfers,
divers, and beachgoers in Northern California
coastal counties. This past year, Del Norte, Humboldt,
Mendocino, and San Francisco counties
began weekly shoreline water quality monitoring at popular beach locations.
Heal
the Bay is happy to present beach report cards
for these county monitoring locations and has
added them to our
statewide coverage. The
BRC covers over 370 locations (450 from April
to October) from Humboldt County to San Diego County
on a weekly basis, updated every Friday. Heal
the
Bay advises California beachgoers to 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 necessary decisions to protect their
health. 
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