Heal the Bay’s first Beach Report CardSM (BRC) was published in 1990 and covered 60-plus monitoring locations in Los Angeles County — from Leo Carrillo Beach near the Ventura County line south to Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro. 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 and 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 unusable to the public. Since then, a great deal of work has been completed to reduce urban runoff pollution 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 highuse beaches that are impacted by flowing stormdrains (AB538) have been signed into law. Structural best management practices, such as the Santa Monica Urban Runoff Recycling Facility, dry weather diversions, and Clean Beach Initiative projects throughout the state 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).
The 17th Annual Beach Report Card summarizes the results of beach water quality monitoring programs along California’s coast, from Humboldt County to San Diego County, over the last 12 months (April 2006 through March 2007). The summary includes an analysis of water quality during three time periods: summer dry season conditions (the months covered under AB411 — April through October), year-round dry weather conditions, and wet weather conditions. In addition to summarizing local water quality, the report includes a brief 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 cleaning up problem beaches to make them safe for swimming and surfing.
The Annual BRC covers over 350 locations (492 for the AB411 time period) from Humboldt County to San Diego County. 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 website, www.healthebay.org/brc/weekly.
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