Heal the Bay IDs ‘Beach Bummers’

Last week Heal the Bay released its 16th annual Beach Report Card which shows that Los Angeles County had by far the lowest grades’with the top two of the 10 most polluted beaches in the state located right here in the Palisades. While a total of 32 beaches statewide received an F grade in the 2005-2006 report, the distinction of being the “most polluted” actually goes to four locations in North Santa Monica Bay that tied for the most number of violations: Escondido Creek and Puerco Beach at the Marie Canyon storm drain in Malibu and Castle Rock Beach at the Castle Rock and Santa Ynez storm drains, located between Santa Ynez and Topanga canyons. Will Rogers State Beach at the mouth of Santa Monica Canyon, which routinely gets an F, was ranked the second most polluted beach in California.(See related story, page 9) Heal the Bay’s annual report, a comprehensive evaluation of coastal water quality based on daily and weekly samples gathered at beaches from Humboldt County to the Mexican border, assigns an A to F letter grade to more than 450 California beaches based on their levels of bacterial pollution. Only 68 percent of L.A. County beaches scored an A or a B letter grade, compared to the statewide average of 85 percent, that got A’s and B’s during dry weather. A poor grade means beachgoers face a higher risk of contracting illnesses’such as stomach flu, ear infections, upper respiratory infections and skin rashes. The report shows that some of the most popular beaches in the region, including Surfrider in Malibu (ranked 4th) and Avalon on Catalina Island (ranked 3rd) are among the most polluted. “This Beach Report Card demonstrates that just because you go to the beach in a multimillion-dollar neighborhood doesn’t guarantee it is safe for swimming,” said Dr. Mark Gold, Executive Director of Heal the Bay. “Whether you are in San Pedro or in Malibu, you have a chance of being next to a highly polluted beach. Beach water quality knows no geographic or economic bounds.” The 2005-2006 report is the first to incorporate new monitoring systems endorsed by the State Water Resources Control Board and the California Beach Water Quality Work Group. Last year, monitoring programs were modified to collect samples directly in front of flowing storm drains and creeks’locations known as “point zero”‘ and 14 new Santa Monica Bay sites from Malibu to Palos Verdes were added under the beach bacteria Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requirements. According to Heal the Bay, the new monitoring program indicates that people who swim directly in front of flowing storm drains are more likely to encounter highly polluted waters. And as in past years, there continues to be a great disparity between dry and wet weather, when water quality typically plummets because of the pollution that rain flushes through the storm drain system and into the ocean. While 80 percent of the beaches monitored in Southern California during summer dry weather received A grades, that number dropped to only 37 percent during wet weather, with 31 percent of the beaches monitored receiving an F grade. However, the report does say that overall water quality in dry weather continues to be good, meaning that the majority of California’s beaches are in safe condition for swimming and surfing throughout the upcoming summer season. “We’re happy to report that most beaches in the state continue to have safe levels of bacteria during the summer months, especially open ocean beaches,” said Dr. Gold. Gold noted that there were large expanses of the California coastline which got a letter grade of A, including the South Bay of Los Angeles County, Palos Verdes, as well as Seal Beach to Huntington Beach and Newport to San Clemente in Orange County, stretches of Ventura County, and nearly all beaches in North San Diego County. Approximately 85 percent of the beaches monitored statewide received a grade of A or B, meaning very good to excellent water quality. “The public has a right to get water-quality information that will help them make informed decisions about where to take their families swimming,” said Dr. Gold. “The Beach Report Card helps families understand which beaches they can visit without fear of getting sick.”