An environmental group, Heal the Bay on Wednesday released its 2006-2007 Annual California Beach Report Card, giving more than 500 beaches throughout the state an “A” to “F” letter grade after analyzing their water quality.
Releasing its 17th annual Beach Report Card yesterday, the Santa Monica-based environmental group said over 90% of the northern California beaches, ranging from San Luis Obispo County north to Humboldt County, earned an “A” grade.
Based on studies of water samples taken by local agencies across the state, the report states that majority of beaches in the state continue to have safe levels of bacteria during the summer months, especially open ocean beaches, apparently because of the water quality this season that has been above average due to the record-low rainfall recorded in much of California..
"We all thought it was going to be the best water quality on record, because we've only had 4 inches of rain, and it was true in other parts of the state," Heal the Bay President Mark Gold said..
But not in Los Angeles County, which for a second straight year, was rated the county with the worst overall beach water quality, holding seven of the top 10 lowest-rated beaches, according to the Beach Report Card. It earned California’s lowest beach grades, with only 57 percent garnering A’s and B’s.
In LA County, the Long Beach shoreline scored the clouded distinction of having the most polluted beaches in California. City’s 88 percent monitoring locations earned fair-to-poor grades on the 2006-‘07 report card, weighing down the county’s average significantly.
Of Long Beach area’s 25 beaches, 22 earned either C, D or F grades. The Long Beach even topped the group's “Beach Bummers” list, which includes 10 locations, and seven sites in Los Angeles County: Castle Rock Beach near Pacific Palisades, Marie Canyon storm drain in Malibu, Avalon on Catalina Island, Surfrider in Malibu, the Santa Monica pier and harborside at San Pedro’s Cabrillo Beach.
San Francisco's Baker Beach, which had received an "F" ranking in last year’s report, showed significant improvement, scoring the "A" grade this year, according to Heal the Bay spokeswoman Hillary Atkin.
Seven beaches around the Mission Bay shoreline in the city of San Diego had chronic bacteria readings during wet weather. In North County, two beaches in Oceanside, the mouth of the San Luis Rey River and Buccaneer Beach at Loma Alta Creek, scored poor wet-weather grades, as did the mouth of San Elijo Lagoon in Encinitas.
Mark Gold said the cause of the increased pollution levels has not been pinpointed.
Founded in 1985, Heal the Bay organization analyze the water quality at 523 California beaches from Humboldt County to San Diego County during the year ending in March and is widely endorsed by the State Water Resources Control Board and the California Beach Water Quality Work Group.
Its yearly Beach Report Card is a comprehensive evaluation of California coastal water quality based on daily and weekly samples gathered at beaches from Humboldt County to the Mexican border. A poor grade means beachgoers face a higher risk of contracting illnesses such as stomach flu, ear infections, upper respiratory infections and skin rashes than swimmers at cleaner beaches.
This environment group believes the people have the right to water quality information to help make informed decisions about where to safely swim, surf and enjoy the ocean water, and the annual Beach Report Card is a public service, which helps everyone understand which beaches they can visit without fear of getting sick.
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