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Southern
California Beaches
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| Avalon
Harbor exhibits the type of barriers that impede
water circulation at many enclosed beaches Photo:
Heal the Bay |
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Once
again, Heal the Bay analyzed the Southern California
data (Santa Barbara
County to San Diego County) to determine
differences in water quality based on beach
type. All Southern California beaches were
divided into three categories: open ocean
beaches, beaches adjacent to a creek, river,
or storm drain (natural or concrete), and
beaches located within enclosed waterbodies.
The grades were analyzed for three different
time periods: dry weather summer
months (from April to October, the AB411 time period), dry weather year-round,
and wet weather year-round. Figures A and B illustrate
the grades by percent during dry weather for both
year-round and AB411 (April to October) conditions. For
the fourth year in a row, the results demonstrate
that water quality during dry weather at open ocean
beaches is excellent and far cleaner than water quality
at beaches impacted by storm drains. In
addition, when storm drains are not flowing (due to diversions or lack of rain)
beaches can have water quality results similar to
those of open ocean beaches. The worst water quality
is found at
enclosed beaches, probably because of the poor water circulation that is often
found at these beaches. Approximately 37% of the
enclosed beaches received fair-to-poor water quality
grades as opposed
to 15% at storm drain impacted beaches and 0% at open ocean beaches. Although
enclosed beaches appear safe and inviting to children,
parents should research water quality conditions
carefully before
allowing their children to swim at these beaches.
The
disparity in water quality between beach type is
seen even more clearly during wet weather. Both beaches
impacted by storm drains and enclosed beaches had
very poor water quality during wet
weather, with enclosed beaches failing an astonishing 82% of the time.
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