Heal the Bay's 17th Annual Beach Report CardSM 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 350 locations year-round (492 locations in dry weather from April to October) on an A–F scale based on the risk of adverse health effects to beachgoers. The grades are based on daily and weekly fecal bacteria pollution levels in the surfzone. 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/brc.
The 2006-2007 Annual Beach Report Card shows that most California beaches had good water quality, with 295 of 360 (82%) locations receiving very good-to-excellent (A and B) grades for the year during dry weather. There were also 24 (7%) Cs, 16 (4%) Ds and 25 (7%) Fs. Southern California (Santa Barbara through San Diego) grades (79% As and Bs) were slightly lower than the statewide average. LA County had the state’s lowest grades with only 57% As and Bs. With a record drought in Los Angeles this past year, water quality was expected to be above average. However, despite some notable water quality improvements in the Santa Monica Bay, Los Angeles County beaches had surprisingly poor water quality—by far the worst in the state.
One of the reasons that Los Angeles County had the worst water quality grades in California was that the county is one of the first in the state (along with portions of San Diego) to modify their monitoring program to collect samples directly in front of flowing stormdrains and creeks. This change was a result of the Santa Monica Bay Beach Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load requirements. Children play directly in front of stormdrains, and some kids even play in the runoff-filled ponds and lagoons. Monitoring at “point zero” is the most protective way to ensure that the health risks to swimmers are minimized.
Also, dry-weather water quality in Long Beach plummeted this past year, bringing LA County’s average down considerably. Eighty-eight percent of Long Beach monitoring locations received fair-to-poor grades. The rest of LA County was much closer to the state average with 73% As and Bs. We are making efforts to work with the City of Long Beach to identify and rectify the source of this dramatic change.
Both Humboldt and San Francisco Counties received A grades at every single summer dry weather monitoring location. Marin, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and San Luis Obispo Counties all received over 90% A grades for the same time period. In fact, well over 90% of monitoring locations from Humboldt County all the way though San Luis Obispo County received A grades for the summer months.
Even with record low amounts of rainfall in Southern California, there continues to be a great disparity between dry and wet weather water quality. This year (April 2006–March 2007) 43% of the 360 locations monitored during wet weather received fair-to-poor (C–F) grades. In Southern California, 48% of sampling locations earned fair-to-poor wet weather grades; slightly higher than the statewide average.
Numerous California beaches vied for the “Beach Bummer” crown this year (the monitoring location with the poorest dry weather water quality). Seven of the ten most polluted beaches in the state were in LA County. The 10 worst were: Cabrillo Beach harborside at the lifeguard tower in Los Angeles County (10th), Arroyo Burro Beach in Santa Barbara (9th), Venice Beach at Frenchman’s Creek in San Mateo County (8th), Campbell Cove State Park Beach in Sonoma County (7th), the Santa Monica Municipal Pier (6th), Surfrider Beach in Malibu (5th), Avalon Beach on Catalina Island (4th), Marie Canyon storm drain in Malibu (3rd), and Castlerock Beach near Topanga in Los Angeles County (2nd). Multiple locations in Long Beach share the dubious honor of being California’s worst “Beach Bummer” this year. After earning poor grades on our end-of-summer report last year, Long Beach water quality continued to suffer all winter, culminating in Long Beach having the worst water quality in the state this past year.
Every beach from Ventura County line south to Palos Verdes was mandated to meet state beach bacteria health standards 100% of the time by July 15, 2006 or face penalties. The 100% compliance requirement for the AB411 time period from April 1st to October 31st means that all Santa Monica Bay beaches must be safe for swimming every day for the seven months from April to October. Unfortunately, the compliance deadline came and went, and many of Santa Monica Bay’s beaches, especially Ramirez Creek, Escondido Creek, Surfrider Beach, Santa Monica Pier, Ballona Creek, Manhattan Beach at 28th Street, and the Redondo Pier still had elevated bacteria levels above the TMDL limits. In order for the Bacteria TMDL pollution limits to be readily enforceable, the Regional Board needed to incorporate them into the actual language of the LA County Storm Water Permit, which the Board did on September 14, 2006. Cities and other dischargers are now subject to fines of over $10,000 per day per violation. Heal the Bay anticipates that enforcement of the Bacteria TMDL by the Regional Board is imminent. Instead of facing heavy fines for each bacteria limit violation, we are hopeful that the cities and Los Angeles County will take appropriate actions to ensure that bacteria limits are not exceeded and that Santa Monica Bay beaches are safe for beach-goers in the summer months. The Beach Report Card will continue to identify beaches that exceed bacteria limits and track compliance efforts.
Heal the Bay completed an analysis of data from Santa Barbara County through San Diego County to determine whether there were significant differences in water quality based on beach type. As in previous years, water quality at open ocean beaches during year-round dry weather was significantly better than water quality at those beaches impacted by stormdrains or located within enclosed bays or harbors. A full 89% of open ocean beaches received an A grade for yearround dry weather compared to 71% at beaches impacted by a stormdrain, and 63% at beaches found within an enclosed bay, harbor or marina.
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 better 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 as soon as possible, 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 within 100 yards of any flowing stormdrain, or in any coastal water during a rainstorm, and for at least three days after a storm has ended. Stormdrain runoff is 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 densities usually far exceed state health criteria for recreational water use.
For more information, please visit www.healthebay.org, or call 1-800-HEAL BAY.
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