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There are four agencies within the County of Los Angeles that contributed monitoring information to Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card. The City of Los Angeles’ Environmental Monitoring Division at the Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant monitored 34 locations (19 of which are monitored weekly; the other 15 are monitored more frequently). The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services monitored 31 locations on a weekly basis. The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts monitored eight locations, six of which are monitored daily and two weekly. And finally, the City of Long Beach, Environmental Health Division, monitored 25 locations on a weekly basis. This includes the addition of two new monitoring locations in February 2006 — one in Alamitos Bay at Division Street and Bayshore and the other at the south end of Mother’s Beach. All monitoring programs except Long Beach collect samples throughout the year at the mouth of a stormdrain or creek.
For additional water quality information visit the Los
Angeles
County Department of Health Services or the City
of Long Beach websites.
LA County’s move to sampling at the mouth of flowing stormdrains and creeks due to the Santa Monica Bay Beach Bacteria TMDL has contributed to the county’s grades being well below the state average. Heal the Bay believes that sampling at the outfall (point zero) of these drains and creeks gives a more accurate picture of water quality and is far more protective of human health. Statewide, most monitoring locations associated with stormdrains or creeks are actually sampled at a substantial distance from the outfall.
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| Topanga State Beach. Photo: Heal the Bay. |
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| Redondo Municipal Pier. Photo: Heal the Bay. |
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| Long Beach City Beach at 10th Place. Photo: Heal the Bay. |
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Heal the Bay expected excellent water quality this past year due to the record drought and there were some notable improvements in the Santa Monica Bay. However, Los Angeles County had surprisingly poor water quality overall — by far the worst in the state — due in no small part to a dramatic decline in Long Beach water quality this past year. Both summer AB411 and year-round dry weather water quality was very poor in Los Angeles County this past year. Only 56% of the locations received an A or B for the summer months, and year-round dry weather was very similar with 57% As or Bs (Figures 11 and 12). There were some stretches of excellent water quality in western Malibu from Nicholas Beach to Zuma. The rest of Malibu, from Zuma to Topanga Beach, exhibited very spotty water quality. The grades fluctuated from good to poor at almost every other monitoring location. Overall, Santa Monica Bay beaches scored fairly well with 52 of 68 (76%) scoring A or B grades during the AB411 months and just slightly lower with 49 of 67 (73%) scoring A or B grades during year-round dry weather. Poor grades for dry weather in Santa Monica Bay were received at Paradise Cove in Malibu (F), Escondido Creek (D), Solstice Canyon (D), Marie Canyon stormdrain at Puerco Beach (F), Surfrider Beach (F), West Carbon Beach at Sweetwater Canyon (F), Topanga State Beach (F), Castlerock stormdrain (F), Santa Ynez stormdrain at Castlerock beach (F), Santa Monica Pier (F), Ballona Creek mouth (D), Redondo Municipal Pier (F), and Cabrillo Beach harborside at the lifeguard tower (F). Cabrillo Beach harborside at the lifeguard tower has actually earned F grades for all time periods over the last 4 years. Four of 5 monitoring locations at Avalon Beach on Catalina Island received poor grades for the AB411 time period this past year. As usual, Avalon Beach locations were not monitored year-round.
Stretches of beach with good water quality included all of Will Rogers State Beach, including Santa Monica Canyon, which finally scored a respectable B grade during the dry AB411 time period (after consistently being one of the most polluted beaches in the area for years). Clean water for all two miles of Will Rogers State Beach was a first in Beach Report Card history — a testament to Los Angeles City and County runoff diversions and the tougher summer beach water quality regulations. All beaches from the Pico/Kenter stormdrain to Ballona Creek outlet (D) scored A grades for both the AB411 and year-round time periods. From Dockweiler State Beach at Culver Blvd. all the way to Manhattan State Beach at 40th Street received A grades as well. From the Manhattan Beach Pier drain all the way to the oceanside monitoring location at Cabrillo Beach, with the exception of Redondo Municipal Pier (F), received A grades for both the AB411 and year-round time periods.
As seen in our 2006 End of Summer Beach Report Card, Long Beach water quality last year was very poor. In fact, Long Beach had by far the worst dry weather water quality in the state. Long Beach exhibited only 12% A and B grades during both the AB411 and year-round dry weather. Forty percent of Long Beach monitoring locations received C grades and 48% received poor grades (D or F). The only A grade was at Long Beach City Beach projection of 54th Street. Two locations in Alamitos Bay received B grades. F grades were found at Belmont Pier (eastside), Long Beach City Beach at Prospect Ave., Alamitos Bay and 2nd Street Bridge and Bayshore, Mother’s Beach (two locations), City Beach at 72nd Place, and Colorado Lagoon. All of these locations, except one in Colorado Lagoon, scored A grades for the same time period in our last annual report. In fact, Long Beach hasn’t scored an F during AB411 since Colorado Lagoon scored one 5 years ago. A comprehensive sanitary survey needs to be performed for the City of Long Beach due to the magnitude and frequency of fecal bacteria exceedances this past year. Heal the Bay hopes to work with Long Beach officials as soon as possible to examine this dramatic decline in water quality.
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| Mother's Beach in Long Beach. Photo: Heal the Bay |
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| Manhattan Beach at 40th Street. Photo: Heal the Bay |
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| Will Rogers Beach at Temescal Canyon. Photo:
Heal the Bay |
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The lack of rain this year didn’t seem to limit bacterial exceedances at Los Angeles County monitoring locations. In addition to having the poorest overall dry weather grades in the state, LA County also exhibited the worst wet weather water quality in California this year. Dropping from 34% on our previous annual report, the percentage of wet weather A and B grades was 29% this past year. Sixty-five of 92 (71%) sample sites received fair-poor grades, with nearly 50% of sample sites receiving a grade of F. Poor grades were scored as far upcoast as Point Dume in Malibu and downcoast to Dockweiler. Most South Bay beaches received good marks for wet weather. Of the 20 sites from Hyperion Treatment Plant to Cabrillo Beach oceanside, only 3 received poor grades. These were Manhattan Beach at 28th Street (F), Herondo Street stormdrain (D), and the Redondo Municipal Pier (D). Every single monitoring location in Long Beach received an F grade during wet weather, undoubtedly due to the contributions of the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers.
General
Water Quality Trends for Santa Monica Bay
Heal the Bay analyzed trends for both dry and wet weather water quality for Los Angeles County beaches to determine how this year’s water quality results fared compared to the past three-year average. The overall 2006–2007 dry weather water quality was well below the threeyear average for A or B grades (81% of locations), with only 56% of the locations receiving A or B grades this past year (Figure 14). For the last couple of years, most monitoring locations at the outlet of stormdrains or creeks were moved to the confluence of the outlet flow and the wave wash. This relatively recent dip in the grades shows the dramatic difference in water quality between the previous sampling locations (approximately 25 yards away from the outlet) and the new sites directly influenced by watershed and urban runoff flows. However, the change in monitoring locations had absolutely no effect on two of the state’s most polluted beaches: Long Beach and Avalon. These sampling locations have remained fixed for years and are not associated with perennially flowing drains or creeks, and so were not subject to relocation.
Wet weather water quality this past year was not quite as bad as during the extremely wet 2004- 2005 winter season, but was substantially worse than the past three-year average (Figure 15).
Beach Cleanup Projects Update
Despite the bad news in Long Beach and other locations throughout Los Angeles County, there were a few new diversions that came online last summer that seemed to have greatly improved water quality. Both Will Rogers at Chautauqua and Temescal Canyon saw vast improvement in their dry weather water quality and scored a B and A+, respectively, this past AB411 time period. This is a two grade improvement for each of these historically problematic beaches. The Santa Ynez Storm Drain at Castle Rock Beach near Sunset diversion was completed by Los Angeles County in July of 2006. Water quality improved dramatically after its completion.
Malibu’s runoff treatment projects have not been so lucky. The long awaited Malibu Civic Center runoff treatment facility was scheduled for completion and operation by fall of 2006. Despite a ribbon cutting ceremony this spring, the facility only recently became operable. Paradise Cove continues to be a major problem due to the failure to complete the sewage treatment facility at the mobile home park. The mobile home park is under a Time Schedule Order from the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board to complete the onsite wastewater treatment facility. To date, the facility and sewer infrastructure still have not been completed despite the accrual of over $1 million in fines.
Other problem beaches that should be cleaned up this year include Marie Canyon in Malibu (a new runoff treatment and disinfection facility), Castlerock Beach near Topanga (diversion), and 28th Street in Manhattan Beach (diversion). In addition, the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts and Redondo Beach are undertaking a source identification study at Redondo Pier that should shed some light on the sources of high fecal bacteria densities at the beach south of the pier.
Sewage Spill Summary
There were 6 sewage spills affecting area beaches in LA County reported to Heal the Bay this past year. The biggest was an estimated 20,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled to Ballona Creek that resulted in beach closures from Dockweiler State Beach at Sandpiper Street north to Ironsides Street in Venice. A Culver City pump station failure in the early morning of August 8th was not reported to County Officials until early afternoon the next day. The beaches were closed by 2 pm on August 9th, approximately 12 hours after the spill began.
Two smaller spills resulting in short beach closures occurred in Malibu at Surfrider Beach (4 days) when a grease trap overflowed and wastewater drained to Malibu Lagoon, and at Venice City Beach at Topsail Street (3 days) caused by a sewage spill a few blocks from the beach.
Approximately 95,985 gallons of sewage entered the Los Angeles Harbor on May 24, 2006. After implementing a substantial increase in monitoring locations near the spill, the LA County Department of Health determined that the spill did not necessitate any beach closures. A 100 gallon spill by LACSD directly to the beach in Manhattan Beach at 26th and 27th Street on April 27, 2006 also did not result in a precautionary beach closure.
Locations in Long Beach’s Colorado Lagoon were closed for over two months due to high bacteria counts at multiple monitoring locations. Eventually, a leaking pump-out station was found to be the culprit. The south end of Mother’s Beach was closed for almost the entire month of October due to sewage contamination.
In a report released on January 24th, 2007, the Los Angeles County auditor-controller disclosed that more than 90 percent of sewage spills in LA County since 2002 were neither officially recorded nor cleaned up. Specifically, of the 208 sewage spills since 2002 (totaling 11.9 million gallons), only 19 were properly reported to the LA County Health Department, leaving over 9.7 million gallons of spilled raw sewage unaccounted for.
When a sewage spill has impacted the beach, the local California health agency is required by law to notify the media, establish a telephone hotline number to inform the public, and close the beach, prohibiting contact with the contaminated water. The beach must remain closed for at least 72 hours after the source has been identified, the spill ceases and sampling results indicate compliance with state standards.
Unfortunately, the audit showed that the Health Department closed beaches in only 2.6% of the more than 200 spills investigated. This means that countless swimmers, surfers and other beachgoers were unnecessarily exposed to potentially contaminated water.
The audit contained 15 recommendations to address the failures in the spill notification process, and we’re happy to report that these recommendations were adopted by the LA County Board of Supervisors at their January 30th meeting. Heal the Bay strongly supports these recommendations, which cover such diverse topics as setting guidelines and standards for maintenance of sewage systems and setting timelines and procedures for notification when a sewage spill happens.
California State Assembly Bill 800 (AB800), authored by Assemblymember Ted Lieu, is an attempt to implement a few of the 15 recommendations stated in the Los Angeles County auditor-controller report. As originally introduced, the bill requires that: 1) local health officers or the directors of environmental health programs be included in the notification protocol for sewage spills into local receiving waters; 2) the notification of any sewage discharged into receiving waters be completed to appropriate agencies within two hours of knowledge of the spill; 3) failure to notify the appropriate agencies in a timely manner is subject to a fine; and 4) each of the nine Regional Water Quality Control Boards, the agency responsible for protecting and improving water quality in California, will be required to have a board member whose expertise is in the area of public health.
To date, the bill is before appropriations, and has been amended significantly. The bill now only requires notification of appropriate agencies, including the local health officer or the director of environmental health program, and fines for failing to notify the appropriate agencies in a timely manner, with no set time defined. Heal the Bay will continue to advocate that, at a minimum, the two hour notification requirement is adopted.
You can find an online article in our News Section that contains links to the copy of the full audit, the 15 specific recommendations, as well as related LA Times articles and an editorial.
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