Los Angeles County had the worst overall beach water quality in the state last year, according to Heal the Bay’s 19th annual Beach Report Card , which the environmental group released today.
Heal the Bay analysts assigned A-to-F letter grades to 94 beaches in the county for the dry-weather period from March 2008 through April 2009, based on levels of weekly bacterial pollution. Only 70% of sites earned A or B grades, a state-low total for the fourth year in a row and nearly even with last year’s 71% tally.
Some 15 beaches in the county received year-round F grades, with six of them ranking in Heal the Bay’s annual Beach Bummer List of the most polluted sites in the state.
Overall dry-weather water quality in Los Angeles this year fell slightly below the county’s five-year average. A handful of chronically polluted beaches in Malibu, Santa Monica, Avalon and Long Beach helped drag down the county’s overall grades.
Meanwhile, Orange County beaches recorded outstanding water quality grades, well above the state average. Some 97% of 103 monitoring locations received an A or B during the summer, as well as 93% for year-round dry weather.
Ventura County also enjoyed excellent water quality during the summer months. Of the 53 beaches monitored, 51 locations received A grades. But on a troubling note, Ventura has ceased ocean testing at all beaches since October in the wake of the state budget crisis, which eliminated all funds to support counties’ regular ocean testing. Orange County officials also may decrease sampling if state funding isn’t made available by July.
With the high-traffic summer beachgoing season upon us, Ventura’s decision jeopardizes public health protections for swimmers throughout the county. Because none of the usual monitoring locations in Ventura County were sampled this past winter, Heal the Bay has issued an overall grade of “Incomplete.”
“With summer coming, the state has made assurances that it will start restoring funding to beach monitoring programs, but there is no firm date,” said Mark Gold, president of Heal the Bay. “Until then, swimmers in many locations in greater Southern California are truly swimming at their own risk.”
The Beach Report Card is a comprehensive evaluation of coastal water quality based on daily and weekly samples taken from sites along the entire coast of California. 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. (Get the full story…)
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