Del Norte County
Del Norte County began monitoring three locations this past spring. These locations are Pebble Beach, Crescent City Harbor, and Crescent Beach.

Humboldt County  Grades
Beach water quality in Humboldt County was very good, with the water quality monitoring locations receiving two As and two Bs. Trinidad State Beach near Mill Creek and Luffenholtz Beach near Luffenholtz Creek were the two locations that received As. There were no known sewage spills that led to beach closures this summer.

Mendocino County
Mendocino County, like Del Norte and Humboldt County, began their monitoring program this past spring. The eight monitoring locations are MacKerricher Beach State Park at Mill Creek, MacKerricher Beach State Park at Virgin Creek, Caspar Beach at Caspar Creek, Russian Gulch Campground, Big River near Pacific Coast Hwy. bridge, Navarro River at Navarro Beach Road, Van Damme State Park at the Little River, and Greenwood Creek Project at Greenwood Creek.

Sonoma County  Grades
Beach water quality in Sonoma County was very good. Of the seven water quality monitoring locations, 5 (71%) received As. Once again, Campbell Cove State Park beach in Bodega Bay received the county’s only F grade. There were no known sewage spills that led to beach closures.

Marin County
Marin County There are 37 bayside (Tomales, San Francisco, and San Pablo Bay) and oceanside monitoring locations covered by Marin County’s water quality monitoring program. Oceanside monitoring locations include Dillon Beach, McClures Beach, Kehoe Beach, Drakes Beach, Limantour Beach, Bolinas Beach (Wharf Road), Stinson Beach, Muir Beach, Cronkhite Beach, Rodeo Beach, and Baker Beach. There were no known sewage spills that led to beach closures.

San Francisco County
Although not required to have a shoreline monitoring program because there are no storm drains that flow directly to the ocean (the County of San Francisco is the only California county to have a combined sewer and storm drain system), the County is applying for EPA funds to make their existing monitoring program more comprehensive. Currently, the County and City of San Francisco work together to monitor shoreline water quality. There are approximately 38 monitoring locations in San Francisco that are monitored at varying frequencies, from weekly and biweekly to monthly. Oceanside monitoring locations include Aquatic Park Beach, Crissy Field Beach, Fort Point, Baker Beach, China Beach, Ocean Beach, and Fort Funston.

San Mateo County  Grades
This summer, San Mateo joins the Beach Report Card program for the first time. Overall water quality was excellent. Of the 20 monitored locations, 18 (90%) received As. The two locations receiving poor grades were Fitzgerald Marine Reserve at San Vicente Creek (D), and Venice Beach at Frenchman’s Creek (F). There were no known sewage spills that led to beach closures.

Santa Cruz County  Grades
Water quality at beaches in Santa Cruz County was excellent. Of the 26 locations covered in this report, 23 (88%) received As. Rio Del Mar Beach received an F grade, and was the only location not to receive an A or B. There were no known sewage spills that led to beach closures.

Monterey County  Grades
Beach water quality in Monterey County was excellent. Of the eight water quality monitoring locations, seven (88%) received As. Stillwater Cove Beach (B) was the only monitoring location not to receive an A grade. There were no known sewage spills that led to beach closures.

San Luis Obispo County  Grades
Water quality at beaches in San Luis Obispo County was generally very good-to-excellent. Of the 17 water quality monitoring locations, 14 (82%) received A grades. The Pismo Beach Pier (south side) was the only monitoring location in San Luis Obispo County to receive an F grade. There were no known sewage spills that led to beach closures.

Santa Barbara County  Grades
Water quality at beaches in Santa Barbara County was very good-to-excellent again this year. Of the 20 water quality monitoring locations, 15 (75%) received A grades. For the second year in a row, beaches like Arroyo Quemada (B) and Arroyo Burro Beach (A) received very good grades. There were no Santa Barbara beaches that received failing grades this summer, with only Goleta Beach and Haskell’s Beach receiving C grades. There were no known sewage spills that led to beach closures.

Ventura County  Grades
Overall water quality at beaches throughout Ventura County was once again excellent. Of the 56 water quality monitoring locations, 52 (93%) received A grades. Three monitoring locations, all in the Channel Islands Harbor’s Beach Park area (Kiddie and Hobie Beach), received the county’s lowest scores with C grades. There were no known sewage spills that led to beach closures.

Los Angeles County  Grades
Water quality at beaches in Los Angeles County was fair, with 53 of the 82 (64%) water quality monitoring locations receiving A grades. This was a 9% decrease in the number of A grades from last year. Two of last year’s noticeable improvements in water quality were at Surfrider Beach and Avalon Beach. Unfortunately, this summer these beaches saw a return of very poor water quality. Surfrider received an F grade, and four of the five Avalon Beaches received C, D, or F grades.

There were 16 locations (20%) that received fair-to-poor water quality marks (eight Cs, three Ds and five Fs). There were twice as many beaches with a D or F grade than last year. Some of the locations with the poorest water quality were Malibu Surfrider Beach at breach point (F); Topanga State Beach (D); Marina del Rey Mothers’ Beach at the lifeguard tower (F); Redondo Municipal Pier 50 yards south (D); and Cabrillo Beach harborside at the lifeguard tower (F).

There were nine reported sewage spills that discharged a total of 16,574 gallons to local waterbodies. None of the nine spills led to beach closures.

Orange County  Grades
Overall water quality at beaches in Orange County this past summer was very good—slightly better than last summer. Of the 101 water quality monitoring locations covered by the Beach Report Card, 79 (78%) received A grades. This was a 9% increase in the number of A grades from last year. There were 15 locations (15%) that received fair-to-poor water quality marks (three Cs, three Ds and nine Fs).

Six of the nine Orange County monitoring locations that received failing grades were located in the enclosed harbors of Newport Bay and Dana Point. The other three locations were San Juan Creek at ocean interface, Doheny Beach (south of San Juan Creek), and Poche Beach.

There were six sewage spills that led to beach closures throughout the summer, discharging approximately 2,410 gallons.

San Diego County  Grades
Water quality at beaches in San Diego County was also very good this summer. Of the 107 water quality monitoring locations sampled, 89 (83%) received A grades. There were 10 locations (10%) that received fair-to-poor water quality marks (six Cs, three Ds and one F). The four locations that had poor water quality this summer were Oceanside Beach at San Luis River outlet, La Jolla at Children’s Pool, Pacific Beach at Pacific Beach Point, and Ocean Beach/Dog Beach at the San Diego River outlet. There were four known sewage spills that led to beach closures throughout the summer, discharging approximately 629,070 gallons. One of the spills was 624,650 gallons.

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