Community Corner

Santa Monica Stays Off 'Beach Bummers' List Again

Testing for bacteria and other pollutants regularly takes place at 445 beaches statewide, and 93 percent earned grades of A or B during summer 2012.

By City News Service

Though Santa Catalina Island's Avalon Harbor topped Heal the Bay's list of the most polluted beaches for a fourth time, overall water quality at Los Angeles County beaches showed definite improvement, with the bulk of beaches receiving A or B grades in the environmental group's annual report released Thursday.

Statewide, only 3 percent of testing sites across California earned grades of D or F in Heal the Bay's 2013 Beach Report Card.

But Los Angeles and Orange county beaches were still featured prominently on the Top 10 Beach Bummers list included in the report. The beaches on the list were:
   -- Avalon Harbor;
   -- Cowell Beach in Santa Cruz County;
   -- Poche Beach in Orange County;
   -- Cabrillo Beach, harborside;
   -- Malibu Pier;
   -- Marina Lagoon in San Mateo County;
   -- Doheny State Beach in Orange County;
   -- Redondo Beach Pier;
   -- Windsurfer Circle at Candlestick Park in San Francisco; and
   -- Tijuana River mouth in San Diego County.

Testing for bacteria and other pollutants regularly takes place at 445 beaches statewide, and 93 percent earned grades of A or B during summer 2012.

That's 1 percent better than the previous year, according to the Los Angeles-based environmental agency.

In Los Angeles County, 84 percent of beaches received summertime grades of A or B, a 2 percent improvement over last year's report, according to Heal the Bay.

Seven L.A. County beaches made the group's "Honor Roll" for earning a perfect A+ during all three testing periods.

"We are heartened by numerous individual beach success stories, but extremely dry weather is likely masking the severity of stormwater pollution,'' Kirsten James, Heal the Bay's science and policy director, said.

High bacteria counts are linked to illnesses such as stomach flu, ear infections and skin rashes.

Heal the Bay attributed the slightly improved water quality to infrastructure improvements aimed at stopping bacterial pollution, such as the diversion of ocean-bound storm water to sewage treatment plants during dry periods, but the biggest factor may be the low amount of rainfall received over the past two winters.

Much of the pollution detected in Southern California surf zones is flushed out of storm drains during downpours.

The Santa Monica Pier was removed from Heal the Bay's Beach Bummer list in 2011 after the city spent more than $2 million to improve water quality.

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