BEACH REPORT CARD - Heal the Bay

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BEACH REPORT CARD - Heal the Bay
BEACH REPORT CARD
BEACH REPORT CARD - Heal the Bay
BEACH
REPORT
CARD
Heal the Bay is an environmental non-profit dedicated to making the coastal waters and
watersheds of Greater Los Angeles safe, healthy and clean. To fulfill our mission, we use
science, education, community action and advocacy.
The Beach Report Card program is funded by grants from

©2019 Heal the Bay. All Rights Reserved. The fishbones logo is a trademark of Heal the Bay.
The Beach Report Card is a service mark of Heal the Bay.
We at Heal the Bay believe the public has the right to know the water quality at their beaches.
We are proud to provide West Coast residents and visitors with this information in an easy-to-understand format.
We hope beachgoers will use this information to make the decisions necessary to protect their health.
BEACH REPORT CARD - Heal the Bay
HEAL THE BAY                                      TABLE OF CONTENTS

         THE BEACH REPORT CARD

        SECTION I: INTRODUCTION

        EXECUTIVE SUMMARY....................................................................................4

        ABOUT THE BEACH REPORT CARD (BRC)..................................................6

        SECTION II: WEST COAST SUMMARY

        OVERVIEW OF CALIFORNIA BEACH WATER QUALITY..........................9

        BEACH REPORT CARD: HONOR ROLL........................................................12

        BEACH REPORT CARD: BEACH BUMMERS..............................................16

        TOP TEN BEACH BUMMERS.........................................................................17

        ANALYSIS BY BEACH TYPE.......................................................................... 22

        ANALYSIS BY BEACH TYPE: IMPACTS OF FIRE..................................... 25

        SECTION III: 2018-19 BEACH NEWS

        CLIMATE CHANGE........................................................................................... 27

        FUNDING SHORLINE MONITORING PROGRAMS.................................. 28

        NOWCAST UPDATE......................................................................................... 28

        RIVER REPORT CARD..................................................................................... 28

        NEW BACTERIAL UPDATES.......................................................................... 29

        PROP W................................................................................................................ 29

        SECTION IV: COUNTY SUMMARIES

        COASTAL COUNTIES: CALIFORNIA.............................................................31

        COASTAL COUNTIES: OREGON / WASHINGTON................................... 48

        SECTION V: APPENDICES

        A // HISTORY OF BEACH BUMMERS......................................................... 54

        B1 // GRADES BY COUNTY: CALIFORNIA..................................................55

        B2 // GRADES BY COUNTY: OREGON......................................................... 68

        B3 // GRADES BY COUNTY: WASHINGTON............................................. 69

        C // FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS..................................................... 74

        D // METHODOLOGY........................................................................................ 76

        E // BILLS............................................................................................................ 78

        G // ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................... 79

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                         3
BEACH REPORT CARD - Heal the Bay
I. INTRODUCTION                      WELCOME

           executive summary

        California beaches had excellent water
        quality during the summer months of 2018.
        Out of almost 500 beaches across the state,
        94% received A or B grades for the summer.
        This is great news for beachgoers.
        However, the winter months of 2018-2019
        saw an abnormally high amount of rainfall,
        which did not bode well for water quality.
        Rain washes pollutants and contaminants
        into the ocean thus lowering water quality.
        The inordinate amount of rain during the
        winter months led to lower than average
        Wet Weather Grades, and the lingering
        effects of the rain may account for the lower
        Winter Dry Grades. Increased rainfall is also
        why we saw a decrease in the total number
        of beaches receiving perfect scores on our
        Honor Roll list this year.

        ● San Clemente Pier holds the number one Beach
           Bummer spot this year and is one of two Orange
           County beaches to make the list; Monarch Beach at
           Salt Creek holds the number six spot.

        ● Clam Beach at Strawberry Creek in Humboldt
           County is number two on the list marking its sixth
           consecutive appearance as a Beach Bummer.

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                     4
BEACH REPORT CARD - Heal the Bay
I. INTRODUCTION                         WELCOME

Executive Summary (continued)                 the weeks in a season. Beaches in          to keep the public safe in a changing
                                              only three counties were sampled           environment.
● San Mateo County has two                    only enough to receive grades. Sum-
                                                                                         In the face of climate change, pre-
  beaches on the Bummer list:                 mer Dry Grades in Oregon were
                                                                                         dicting   environmental    conditions
  Linda Mar at San Pedro Creek                good with 78% of the beaches re-
                                                                                         will become increasingly important
  (number three) and Aquatic                  ceiving A and B grades.
                                                                                         as initiatives are implemented that
  Park (number 10). This is an                All coastal counties in Washington         protect human health and the natural
  improvement from last year,                 had beaches sampled enough to              environment. Heal the Bay is lead-
  which saw four San Mateo                    be assigned grades. Summer Dry             ing innovation in predictive water
  County Beach Bummers.                       Grades in Washington were excel-           quality modeling with our NowCast
● The two Los Angeles County                  lent with 97% of the beaches receiv-       program. NowCast accurately pre-
  Beach Bummers came as no                    ing A and B grades. Oregon and             dicts daily water quality at over 20
  surprise as Marina Del Rey                  Washington rely heavily on the U.S.        beaches in California, and we will
  Mother’s Beach (number seven)               Environmental Protection Agency’s          continue to expand our program to
  and Cabrillo Beach Harborside               (U.S. EPA) Beaches Environmental           include more locations to help keep
  (number eight) have been                    Assessment and Coastal Health Act          more beachgoers safe.
  mainstays on the list over the              (BEACH Act) for ocean beach water
  years. Long Beach City Beach                quality monitoring funding. Unfor-
  at Coronado Avenue is making                tunately, the allocation of funds has
  its first appearance on the list at         not increased substantially since its
  number four.                                adoption in 2000.                          Luke Ginger
                                                                                         Heal the Bay
● Cowell Beach has been no                    As the effects of climate change con-
                                                                                         Water Quality Specialist
  stranger to the Beach Bummer                tinue to take hold, patterns in rainfall
  list taking the number five spot            and wildfires are expected to change,
  this year.                                  which can have immense impacts on
                                              water quality. California experienced
● Another newcomer to the
                                              a disproportionate amount of rain
  Bummer list is Keller Beach South
                                              and wildfires over the last year, which
  Beach in Contra Costa County,
                                              brought below average Wet Weather
  which is number nine on the list.
                                              Grades in 11 out of 17 Coastal Coun-
As in the past, many grades could             ties and far below average grades at
not be calculated for the state of Or-        Malibu beaches where the Woolsey
egon this year because the Oregon             Fire burned. It is crucial that govern-
Department of Environmental Quality           ment bodies work to improve their
did not meet our sampling frequen-            water quality monitoring programs
cy standards. To receive a grade a            and invest in projects and technol-
beach must be sampled for 75% of              ogy that will improve water quality

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                 5
BEACH REPORT CARD - Heal the Bay
I. INTRODUCTION                     ABOUT THE BRC

THE 2018-19 BEACH REPORT CARD
Since its inception over 25 years ago, the Beach Report Card (BRC) has
provided beachgoers with reliable and easy-to-understand information about
water quality at the beach. The BRC collects shoreline monitoring data from
government agencies and issues grades for beaches across California, Oregon,
and Washington. The better the grade a beach receives,
the lower the risk of illness to beachgoers.

Millions of people flock to beaches every year to
enjoy the ocean, and fortunately, water quality at
West Coast beaches is good 94% of the time during
summer months when beaches are most visited. Good
water quality at the beach is achieved and maintained
through the efforts of nonprofit organizations,
federal and local governments, and concerned
communities. There are still big improvements to be
made. Approximately one million ocean beachgoers
contract illnesses each year in Los Angeles and
Orange Counties with total healthcare costs of $20 to

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                    6
BEACH REPORT CARD - Heal the Bay
I. INTRODUCTION                                                       ABOUT THE BRC

Introduction (continued)                                                            This report assigns three separate                                                   streets directly into the ocean through
                                                                                    grades for each beach:                                                               storm drains, rivers and streams, and
$50 million1. Nationwide, 90 million                                                                                                                                     over impermeable surfaces such as
                                                                                                    SUMMER DRY WEATHER
people contract illnesses from water                                                                                                                                     concrete. This untreated stormwater
                                                                                                    April – October 2018
recreation annually at a healthcare                                                                                                                                      decreases water quality by increas-
                                                                                                    This is the prime recreation
cost of $3 billion2. The public must                                                                                                                                     ing the amount of pathogens in the
                                                                                    season in California when beaches
have           accessible                 and           easy-to-                                                                                                         ocean to potentially unsafe levels.
                                                                                    are most active. County govern-
understand information about water                                                                                                                                       Wet Weather Grades consist of sam-
                                                                                    ments are required to sample dur-
quality so they can make informed                                                                                                                                        ples taken during or three days fol-
                                                                                    ing this period according to the Cali-
decisions about where and when to                                                                                                                                        lowing a rain event greater than 0.10
                                                                                    fornia Beach Bathing Water Quality
get in the water.                                                                                                                                                        inches. These grades are separate
                                                                                    Standards, as defined in Assembly
                                                                                                                                                                         from dry weather grades, so we can
The BRC uses an intuitive A-to-F let-                                               Bill 411 (AB411). Samples taken during
                                                                                                                                                                         analyze water quality impacts that
ter grading system to provide wa-                                                   wet weather were not used for these
                                                                                                                                                                         are not attributed to rainfall.
ter quality information to the public.                                              grades.
This annual report issues cumula-                                                                                                                                        Beachgoers who recreate at beaches
                                                                                                    WINTER DRY WEATHER
tive grades for beaches on the West                                                                                                                                      after a rain event have an increased
                                                                                                    Nov. 2018 – March 2019
Coast, and provides information                                                                                                                                          risk of contracting ear infections,
                                                                                                    AB411 does not mandate wa-
about other important water quality                                                                                                                                      eye infections, upper respiratory
                                                                                    ter quality monitoring for recreational
events that occurred in the past year                                                                                                                                    infections, skin rashes, and gastro-
                                                                                    purposes during winter months lead-
such as sewage spills, rainfall, and                                                                                                                                     intestinal illness3,4,5. Swimmers are
                                                                                    ing many Counties in California to
wildfires.                                                                                                                                                               advised to stay out of the water for
                                                                                    halt water quality monitoring in the
Grades are based on routine wa-                                                                                                                                          a minimum of three days following
                                                                                    winter season. Additionally, recre-
ter quality sampling conducted by                                                                                                                                        a significant rain event (0.1 inches or
                                                                                    ation generally decreases at beach-
County health agencies, State agen-                                                                                                                                      greater)6. Local governments across
                                                                                    es during the winter. Therefore, the
cies, sanitation departments, and                                                                                                                                        the West Coast must continue to in-
                                                                                    winter season is graded separately.
dischargers on the West Coast. For                                                                                                                                       vest in stormwater capture projects
                                                                                    Samples taken during wet weather
recreational health protection, water                                                                                                                                    to prevent untreated stormwater
                                                                                    were not used for these grades.
samples are analyzed for three fecal                                                                                                                                     from polluting the ocean while serv-
indicator bacteria (FIB): total coliform,                                                           WET WEATHER                                                          ing as a water source and alleviating
fecal coliform (E. coli), and Enterococ-                                                            CONDITIONS                                                           stressed water supplies in times of
cus species. These FIB, in significant                                                              April 2018 – March 2019                                              drought.
quantities, indicate the presence of                                                Rain flushes contaminants and pol-
harmful pathogens in the water.                                                     lution, including bacteria from our

1 Given, S., L. H. Pendleton, A. B. Boehm. 2006. Regional public health cost estimates of contaminated coastal waters: a case study of gastroenteritis at Southern California beaches. Environmental Science & Technology 40: 4851-4858.
| 2 DeFlorio-Barker,S., C. Wing, R.M. Jones, S. Dorevitch. 2018. Estimate of incidence and cost of recreational waterborne illness on United States surface waters. Environmental Health 17:3 | 3 Haile, R.W., J.S. Witte, M. Gold, R. Cressey,
C. McGee, R.C. Millikan, A. Glasser, N. Harawa, C. Ervin, P. Harmon, J. Harper, J. Dermand, J. Alamillo, K. Barrett, M. Nides, G. Wang. The health effects of swimming in ocean water contaminated by storm drain runoff. 1999. Epidemiology
Vol. 10 No.4 355-363. | 4 Colford, J.M., T.J. Wade, K.C. Schiff, C.C. Wright, J.F. Griffith, S.K. Sandhu, S. Burns, M. Sobsey, G. Lovelace, S.B. Weisberg. 2007. Water quality indicators and the risk of illness at beaches with nonpoint sources
of fecal contamination. Epidemiology Vol. 10 No. 1 27-35. | 5 Arnold, B.F., K.C. Schiff, A. Ercumen, J. Benjamin-Chung, J.A. Steele, J.F. Griffith, S.J. Steinberg, P. Smith, C.D. McGee, R. Wilson, C. Nelsen, S.B. Weisberg, J.M. Colford.
2017. Acute illness among surfers after exposure to seawater in dry-and wet-weather conditions. American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 186 No. 7 866-875. | 6 https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013healthebayproject-1.pdf

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                                                                                                                                    7
BEACH REPORT CARD - Heal the Bay
WEST COAST SUMMARY
BEACH REPORT CARD - Heal the Bay
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                                       OVERVIEW

       Abalone Cove, Rancho Palos Verdes

OVERVIEW OF CALIFORNIA
BEACH WATER QUALITY
Summer Dry Grades were excellent across the State this year but lower than average with 94% of
California beaches receiving A and B grades. Winter Dry Grades were good but below average with
87% of the beaches receiving A and B grades. Wet Weather Grades for the past year were far below
average with only 54% of the beaches receiving A and B grades.

Note: All averages below refer to the five-year-average unless otherwise indicated.

Coastal Counties in California re-                      ing bacteria, are being flushed into   were excellent with 93% of its beach-
ceived abnormally high amounts of                       the ocean.                             es receiving A and B grades.
rain over the last year. All Counties
                                                                                               Wet Weather Grades were good
except Del Norte received above                         NORTHERN                               but below average with only 81% of
average rainfall, which is likely why                   CALIFORNIA OVERVIEW                    Northern California beaches receiv-
11 out of 17 Coastal Counties had
                                                        Northern California consists of all    ing A and B grades.
lower than average Wet Weather
                                                        counties from Marin County to Del      No Counties in Northern California
Grades this year. While rain can alle-
                                                        Norte County.                          monitored beach water quality fre-
viate drought conditions, more rain
means that more pollutants, includ-                     Summer Dry Grades in this region       quently enough during the 2018-

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                       9
BEACH REPORT CARD - Heal the Bay
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                             OVERVIEW

West Coast Overview (continued)               Winter Dry Grades were superb and         of the beaches receiving A and B
                                              higher than average with 100% of the      grades.
2019 winter months.                           beaches receiving A and B grades.         Winter Dry Grades were good but
The Northern California region re-            Wet Weather Grades were poor and          lower than average with only 85%
ceived 207 inches of rain, which was          considerably lower this year with         of the beaches receiving A and B
the highest compared to the rest of           only 53% receiving A and B grades         grades.
the State and 9% higher than the              compared to the five year average of      Wet Weather Grades were poor and
historical average of 191 inches. The         65%.                                      lower than average with only 50%
increased rainfall is likely why Wet
                                              A total of 167 inches of rain fell in     of the beaches receiving A and B
Weather Grades were below aver-
                                              Central California counties, which        grades.
age. However, most of the rain fell
                                              is 17% higher than the historical av-     Southern California received a total
during the winter months when the
                                              erage of 142 inches. The increased        of 76 inches of rain, which is 43%
beaches are not monitored. As a re-
                                              rainfall is most likely the reason be-    higher than the historical average
sult, the full impact of the increased
                                              hind the lower than average Wet           of 53 inches. The increased rainfall
rainfall is unknown.
                                              Weather Grades.                           most likely caused a decrease in
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA                            SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
                                                                                        Wet Weather Grades and the linger-
OVERVIEW                                      OVERVIEW
                                                                                        ing effects of the rain may have had
                                                                                        a negative impact on the Winter Dry
Central California consists of all coun-
                                              Southern California consists of all       Grades since most rain fell during
ties from San Luis Obispo County to
                                              counties from San Diego County to         the winter months.
San Francisco County.
                                              Santa Barbara County.
Summer Dry Grades were excellent
                                              Summer Dry Grades were excellent
and slightly above average with 92% of
                                              but lower than average with 95%
its beaches receiving A and B grades.

FIGURE 2-1: CALIFORNIA GRADES (STATEWIDE)                                                                                   1%1%

 Summer Dry (April - October 2018) 461 locations                                                         88%        7% 3%

 Winter Dry (November 2018-March 2019) 326 locations                                          78%        9%         7% 2% 3%

 Wet Weather 444 locations                           44%         10%        8%    5%                                     33%
                                                                                                                         2% 1% 2%

 Summer Dry (Five year average 2013-2018)                                                                    90%    5%

 Winter Dry (Five year average 2013-2018)                                                         80%        9% 4% 2%     5%

 Wet Weather (Five year average 2013-2018)                   51%           11%         9%    6%                          23%

                                                                                                             Key:

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                 10
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                                   OVERVIEW

FIGURE 2-2: NORTHERN CALIFORNIA GRADES                                                                                           Key:

Combined grades for Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin Counties

 Summer Dry (April - October 2018) 42 locations                                                                                88%      5%      5% 2%

 Winter Dry (November 2018-March 2019) NO WINTER MONITORING

 Wet Weather 43 locations                                                                              72%           9%       5% 2%              12%
                                                                                                                                                2% 1% 2%

 Summer Dry (Five year average 2013-2018)                                                                                         90%      4%

 Winter Dry (Five year average 2013-2018) NO WINTER MONITORING

 Wet Weather (Five year average 2013-2018)                                                                         80%    5%     5%        6%        5%

FIGURE 2-3: CENTRAL CALIFORNIA GRADES
Combined grades for San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties

 Summer Dry (April - October 2018) 83 locations                                                         73%                       18% 2% 4% 2%

 Winter Dry (November 2018-March 2019) 42 locations                                                                                     95%          5%

 Wet Weather 97 locations                                         48%      5%            9%       4%                                             33%

 Summer Dry (Five year average 2013-2018)                                                                           80%          9%        5% 2% 3%

 Winter Dry (Five year average 2013-2018)                                                                    76%          8%     6% 2%               8%

 Wet Weather (Five year average 2013-2018)                          49%                   16%                 12%        7%                      17%

FIGURE 2-4: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GRADES
Combined grades for Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties
                                                                                                                                                       1%1%

 Summer Dry (April - October 2018) 336 locations                                                                                 91% 4% 3%

 Winter Dry (November 2018-March 2019) 284 locations                                                         75%         10%          8%     4% 4%

 Wet Weather 305 locations                          39%                11%          8%        6%                                                 36%
                                                                                                                                                     1%1% 1%

 Summer Dry (Five year average 2013-2018)                                                                                             93% 4%
                                                                                                                                                1%
 Winter Dry (Five year average 2013-2018)                                                                            82%             9% 4%
                                                                                                                                           4%

 Wet Weather (Five year average 2013-2018)                        48%            10%              8%         6%                                  27%

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                                            11
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                            HONOR ROLL

      Cabrillo Beach (ocean side)

BEACH REPORT CARD: HONOR ROLL
To earn a spot on the Honor Roll, a beach must be monitored weekly all year, and the
beach must receive an A+ for all seasons and weather conditions (Summer Dry, Winter
Dry, Wet Weather). This year, 33 of the 500 monitored beaches made it on the Honor Roll,
which is lower than last year (37) likely due to the higher than average rainfall. The Honor
Roll is typically dominated by Southern California beaches because many Northern and
Central California Counties do not monitor beach water quality year-round.

San Diego County had the most                 Los Angeles County had two beach-
beaches on the Honor Roll with 12.            es on the Honor Roll: Cabrillo Beach
Encinitas and Carlsbad beaches                (oceanside) and Las Tunas Beach
have been a mainstay on the Honor             at Pena Creek. Unfortunately, this
Roll for the past decade.                     is a decrease from last year when
                                              eight L.A. County beaches made the
Orange County had 10 beaches on
                                              Honor Roll. Three of the four Malibu
the Honor Roll. All four of the New-
                                              beaches fell off the list, as well as all
port beaches from last year’s Honor
                                              three Palos Verdes beaches from
Roll have fallen off the list as well as
                                              last year’s list.
three Dana Point beaches.

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                    12
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                        HONOR ROLL

                                                                                                                   FIGURE 2-6

Honor Roll (continued)

Ventura County had three beaches
on the Honor Roll this year: Silver-          CITY                 COUNTY          MONITORING LOCATION
strand at Santa Paula Dr., Silverstrand
                                              Santa Cruz           Santa Cruz      Natural Bridges State Beach
at Sawtelle Ave., and Oil Piers Beach.
                                              Pismo Beach          SLO             Sewers at Silver Shoals Dr.
San Luis Obispo County added                  Cayucos              SLO             downcoast of the pier
Cayucos State Beach (downcoast of             San Simeon           SLO             at Pico Avenue
the pier) and Sewers at Silver Shoals         Morro Bay            SLO             City Beach, 75 ft N of parking lot
Dr. to the Honor Roll this year along         Guadalupe            Santa Barbara   Guadalupe Dunes
with Morro Bay City Beach (north of           Channel Is.Harbor    Ventura         At Santa Paula Dr. (south of drain)
parking lot) and San Simeon Beach             Channel Is. Harbor   Ventura         at Sawtelle Ave. (south of drain)
at Pico Ave., which were on the list          Ventura              Ventura         Oil Piers Beach - south of drain
last year.                                    San Pedro            Los Angeles     Cabrillo Beach, ocean side
                                              Malibu               Los Angeles     Las Tunas County Beach at Pena Creek
Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa
                                              Dana Point           Orange          Harbor Youth Dock
Cruz County and Guadalupe Dunes
                                              Huntington Harbor    Orange          Trinidad Lane Beach
in Santa Barbara County made the
                                              Huntington Harbor    Orange          Coral Cay Beach
Honor Roll.
                                              Corona del Mar       Orange          El Moro Beach
Three of the beaches on the Honor             Laguna Beach         Orange          Victoria Beach
Roll are enclosed beaches, which is           Dana Point           Orange          South Capistrano Bay Comm. Beach
an increase from last year when only          Dana Point           Orange          Dana Strands Beach (AWMA)
one enclosed beach made the list.             San Clemente         Orange          Linda Lane Beach
                                              San Clemente         Orange          North beach at Avenida Pico
                                              San Clemente         Orange          at Avenida Calafia
                                              Oceanside            San Diego       projection of Cassidy Street
                                              Carlsbad             San Diego       projection of Poinsettia Lane
                                              Carlsbad             San Diego       projection of Ponto Drive
                                              Carlsbad             San Diego       Encina Creek outlet
                                              Carlsbad             San Diego       projection of Palomar Airport Rd.
                                              Carlsbad             San Diego       projection of Cerezo Drive
                                              Solana Beach         San Diego       Tide Beach Park (proj. Solana Vista Dr.)
                                              Cardiff              San Diego       Seaside State Park
                                              Cardiff              San Diego       Las Olas (100 yds. S of Charthouse )
                                              Cardiff              San Diego       Charthouse parking ( S. of Kilkeny)
                                              Encinitas            San Diego       San Elijo State Park (proj. Liverpool Dr.)
                                              Encinitas            San Diego       San Elijo State Park, N. end of stairs

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                     13
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                                           HONOR ROLL

Honor Roll (continued)                                   goon. Dry weather storm flows were                                          Phase 2
                                                         diverted into the sewer system where                                        This phase is ongoing and will con-
                                                         they can be treated. A trash separa-                                        sist of increasing the connection
BEACH IMPROVEMENT                                        tion device was installed in the storm                                      between the lagoon and the ocean.
SPOTLIGHT:                                               drain to catch trash before it could                                        This will allow for more water circu-
COLORADO LAGOON                                          enter the lagoon. Phase 1 also re-                                          lation in the lagoon, which has been
NORTH, L.A. COUNTY                                       moved thousands of cubic yards of                                           shown to impact water quality (see
             Every year, we shine a                      polluted sediment. Phase 1 was com-                                         beach type analysis). This phase will
             spotlight on one beach                      pleted in 2012, which coincides with                                        also restore the wetland habitats
             that has shown a large                      Colorado Lagoon’s last appearance                                           throughout the lagoon and remove
             improvement in water                        as a Beach Bummer in 2011.                                                  invasive species.
quality. We do this to highlight suc-
cessful water quality management
practices. Colorado Lagoon was a
chronic Beach Bummer prior to 2012.
Since then, its grades have greatly
improved. This year, Colorado La-
goon North received an A grade for
Summer Dry, C for Winter Dry, and an
F grade for Wet Weather.

Steps Taken to Improve the Beach:

Restoration projects have been on-
going for the past decade and con-
sist of two phases:

Phase 1
Bioswales were installed to catch
runoff from the neighboring golf                                          Colorado Lagoon
course before it could enter the la-

TABLE 2-5: HISTORICAL GRADES OF COLORADO LAGOON

                                   2018-19                      2017-18                      2016-17                      2015-16                      2014-15                      2013-14
                          Summer    Winter    Wet      Summer    Winter    Wet      Summer    Winter    Wet      Summer    Winter    Wet      Summer    Winter    Wet      Summer    Winter    Wet
                            Dry      Dry     Weather     Dry      Dry     Weather     Dry      Dry     Weather     Dry      Dry     Weather     Dry      Dry     Weather     Dry      Dry     Weather

Colorado Lagoon - North     A        B         C         A        B         D       n/a       n/a       n/a        A        A         F        A+        A+        F         A        A+        F

Colorado Lagoon - South     A        C         F         A        B         F       n/a       n/a       n/a        A        A+        F        A+        A+        F         A        A         F

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                                                                                         14
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                                        HONOR ROLL

TABLE 2-6: 2018-19 HONOR ROLL BEACHES AND HISTORICAL GRADES
u = Honor Roll   = Year Round good or excellent grades      = Inconsistent or poor grades     n/a   = Partial or unavailable grades

 County/Beach                                                                               2018-19      2017-18 2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14 2012-13 2011-12

Santa Cruz       Santa Cruz, Natural Bridges State Beach                                      u
SLO              Pismo Beach, Sewers at Silver Shoals Drive                                   u
SLO              Cayucos, downcoast of the pier                                               u                                                               u
SLO              San Simeon, at Pico Avenue                                                   u                         u                   u
SLO              Morro Bay, City Beach, 75 ft N of parking lot                                u             u           u                   u
Santa Barbara    Guadalupe, Guadalupe Dunes                                                   u             n/a        n/a                              u     n/a

Ventura          Silverstran, Santa Paula Drive                                               u             u                               n/a   n/a         u
Ventura          Channel Islands Harbor, at Sawtelle Avenue (south of drain)                  u                         u                   n/a   n/a

Ventura          Ventura, Oil Piers Beach, south of drain                                     u                        n/a            n/a   u           u
Los Angeles      San Pedro, Cabrillo Beach, ocean side                                        u                                                   u     u
Los Angeles      Malibu, Las Tunas County Beach, Pena Creek                                   u             u          n/a            n/a         u     u
Orange           Dana Point Harbor, Youth Dock                                                u             u                         u     u     n/a   n/a   n/a

Orange           Huntington Harbor, Trinidad Lane Beach                                       u                                                   n/a   n/a   n/a

Orange           Huntington Harbor, Coral Cay Beach                                           u                                                   n/a   n/a   n/a

Orange           Corona del Mar, El Moro Beach                                                u                                       u     n/a         u     n/a

Orange           Laguna Beach, Victoria Beach                                                 u             u                         u                       u
Orange           Dana Point, South Capistrano Bay Community Beach                             u             u                         u
Orange           Dana Point, Dana Strands Beach (AWMA)                                        u             u
Orange           San Clemente, Linda Lane Beach                                               u                                       n/a   n/a   n/a   n/a   n/a

Orange           San Clemente, North beach at Avenida Pico                                    u
Orange           San Clemente, Avenida Calafia                                                u             u                         u           u
San Diego        Oceanside, projection of Cassidy Street                                      u
San Diego        Carlsbad, projection of Cerezo Drive                                         u             u           u             u     n/a   u     u     u
San Diego        Carlsbad, projection of Palomar Airport Road                                 u             u           u             u     n/a         u     u
San Diego        Carlsbad, Encina Creek outlet                                                u             u           u             u     n/a   u     u
San Diego        Carlsbad, projection of Ponto Drive                                          u             u           u             u     n/a   u           u
San Diego        Carlsbad, projection of Poinsettia Lane                                      u             u           u             u     n/a   u           u
San Diego        Solana Beach, Tide Beach Park (projection Solana Vista Drive)                u                                       u
San Diego        Cardiff, Seaside State Park                                                  u                                       u                       u
San Diego        Cardiff, Las Olas (100 yards S of Charthouse )                               u                                                         u
San Diego        Cardiff, Charthouse parking ( South of Kilkeny)                              u                         u                   u           u
San Diego        Encinitas, San Elijo State Park (projection of Liverpool Drive)              u             u                         u                       u
San Diego        Encinitas, San Elijo State Park, north end of stairs                         u             u           u             u     u                 u

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                                                         15
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                            BEACH BUMMERS

      San Clemente Pier

BEACH REPORT CARD:
BEACH BUMMERS
Unfortunately, every beach does not make the Honor Roll.
The beaches that received the ten poorest Summer Grades are called
Beach Bummers. Following are the Beach Bummers for 2018-19.

  1     SAN CLEMENTE PIER                     Tracking (MST) study, which will help
        ORANGE COUNTY                         identify the sources of bacteria in the
                                              ocean by examining genetic markers
San Clemente Pier was one of two
                                              specific to certain animal groups (e.g.
Orange County beaches to make
                                              humans, cows, dogs, horses, birds).
the Beach Bummer list this year.
                                              The City has also installed bird de-
San Clemente Pier last appeared on
                                              terrent netting under the pier to help
the Beach Bummer list in 2016. This
                                              prevent bacteria-containing bird ex-
beach is impacted by untreated dry
                                              crement from entering the water. In
weather runoff that flows into the
                                              April 2019, the City of San Clemente
ocean through a nearby storm drain.
                                              formed their Ocean Water Quality
The City of San Clemente is cur-              Subcommittee to address the poor
rently conducting a Microbial Source          water quality around the pier.

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                             16
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                         BEACH BUMMERS

                                                                                              FIGURE 2-7

Beach Bummers (continued)

   2      CLAM BEACH
          HUMBOLDT COUNTY
                                                   San Clemente Pier Drain
     CHRONIC BEACH BUMMER                     1    SAN CLEMENTE // ORANGE COUNTY
This chronic Beach Bummer is on
the list for the sixth straight year.              Clam Beach County Park near Strawberry Creek
Water quality at this beach is nega-          2    MCKINLEYVILLE // HUMBOLDT COUNTY
tively impacted by agricultural runoff
that flows into the ocean via Patrick
                                                   Linda Mar Beach at San Pedro Creek
Creek and Strawberry Creek. Hum-
boldt County officials are actively
                                              3    PACIFICA // SAN MATEO COUNTY
working to identify the largest sourc-
es of bacterial pollution at this beach.           Long Beach City Beach at Coronado Avenue
                                              4    LONG BEACH // LOS ANGELES COUNTY
          LINDA MAR BEACH
   3      AT SAN PEDRO CREEK
                                                   Cowell Beach, west of the wharf
          SAN MATEO COUNTY                    5    SANTA CRUZ // SANTA CRUZ COUNTY
Linda Mar Beach has made a sec-
ond consecutive appearance on the
                                                   Monarch Beach North at Salt Creek
Beach Bummer list, and is one of
two San Mateo County beaches on
                                              6    DANA POINT // ORANGE COUNTY
the list this year. This beach is im-
pacted by runoff during dry weather,               Mother's Beach, between Tower and Boat Dock
which flows untreated into the ocean          7    MARINA DEL REY // LOS ANGELES COUNTY
through San Pedro Creek.

                                                   Cabrillo Beach, harborside at restrooms
          LONG BEACH                          8    SAN PEDRO // LOS ANGELES COUNTY
   4      AT CORONADO AVENUE
          LOS ANGELES COUNTY
                                                   Keller Beach, South Beach
Long Beach City Beach at Coronado             9    RICHMOND // CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
Ave. is making its first appearance
on the Beach Bummer list, and is
                                                   Aquatic Park
one of three L.A. County beaches
on the list this year. Water quality at
                                              10   SAN MATEO // SAN MATEO COUNTY

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                17
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                                                       BEACH BUMMERS

Beach Bummers (continued)

this beach is negatively impacted by
dry weather runoff, which flows into
the ocean through a storm drain on
the beach. Currently, the City of Long
Beach is implementing the Municipal
Urban Stormwater Treatment (MUST)
project. The MUST project will catch
stormwater and treat it before it
can enter the L.A. River and subse-
quently impact ocean beaches. The
treated water will ultimately be used                                                   5th Street

to support wetland restorations.                                                       10th Street
                                                                                 Molino Avenue
                                                                            Coronado Avenue
                                                                                    Belmont Pier
                                                                             Prospect Avenue
                                                                              Granada Avenue
                                                                                                                                                                                               Long Beach

TABLE 2-8: HISTORICAL GRADES OF LONG BEACH CITY BEACH

 Long Beach               2018-19                      2017-18                      2016-17                      2015-16                      2014-15                      2013-14                      2012-13
 monitoring      Summer    Winter    Wet      Summer    Winter    Wet      Summer    Winter    Wet      Summer    Winter    Wet      Summer    Winter    Wet      Summer    Winter    Wet      Summer    Winter    Wet
 locations         Dry      Dry     Weather     Dry      Dry     Weather     Dry      Dry     Weather     Dry      Dry     Weather     Dry      Dry     Weather     Dry      Dry     Weather     Dry      Dry     Weather

 5th Street        A        C         F         A        B         F         A        C         F         A        A         F         A        B         F         B        B         F         A        A         C

 10th Street       A        B         F         A        B         F         A        C         F         A        A         F         A        A         F         B        A         F         B        A         C

 Molino Ave.       C        A         F         A        B         F         A        C         F         A        C         F         A        A         F         B        A         F         A        A         C

 Coronado
                   F        B         F         A        A         F         C        B         F         A        A         F         A        A         F         B        A         F         C        A         B
 Avenue

 Belmont Pier      B        A         F         A        D         F         A        B         F         A        A+        F         A        B         F         B        A         F         C        A         B

 Prospect Ave.     C        A         F         A        C         F         A        B         F         A        A         F        A+        A         F         B        A         F         B        A         B

 Granada Ave.      C        A         F         B        B         F         B        C         F         B        C         F        A+        A         F         C        A         F         B        A         A

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                                                                                                           18
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                            BEACH BUMMERS

Beach Bummers (continued)

           COWELL BEACH
   5       WEST OF WHARF
           SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

       CHRONIC BEACH BUMMER

This chronic Beach Bummer is mak-
ing its tenth straight appearance on
the list this year. Water quality at this
beach is negatively impacted by un-                    Cowell Beach, Santa Cruz
treated dry weather runoff that flows
into the ocean through a storm drain
on the beach. The County of Santa             years to improve the water quality at     makes it a popular beach for fami-
Cruz, City of Santa Cruz along with           this beach. A bird abatement project      lies.
Nonprofit partners has formed the             was implemented, which consisted
                                                                                        L.A. County has installed bird exclu-
Cowell’s   Working     Group     (CWG),       of deterring seagulls with a falcon.
                                                                                        sion devices and water circulators
which is dedicated to improving wa-           The City also installed a facility that
                                                                                        to help remediate the problem. The
ter quality at this beach. The CWG            treated water flowing from Salt Creek
                                                                                        restroom building underwent reno-
has conducted studies to determine            before it could enter the ocean.
                                                                                        vations last year replaced pipes and
the sources and distributions of bac-
                                                                                        sewer lines. Bioswales designed to
teria at the beach. Another goal of                     MARINA DEL REY,                 catch runoff before it can enter the
CWG is to spread public awareness                7      MOTHERS BEACH
                                                                                        water were also installed.
about water quality at Cowell Beach.                    LOS ANGELES COUNTY
                                                   CHRONIC BEACH BUMMER
           MONARCH BEACH                                                                           CABRILLO BEACH
   6       AT SALT CREEK
                                              Marina Del Rey Mother’s Beach is              8      INNER/HARBOR SIDE
                                              making its fifth appearance on the
           ORANGE COUNTY                                                                           LOS ANGELES COUNTY
                                              list this year and is one of three L.A.
Monarch Beach last appeared on                                                                  CHRONIC BEACH BUMMER
                                              County Beach Bummers. This beach
the Beach Bummer list in 2015 and is                                                    This beach has appeared on the list
                                              is considered enclosed because it
the second Orange County beach to                                                       eight times in the last 10 years and is
                                              is located within the marina and the
make the list this year. Water quality                                                  one of three L.A. County Beach Bum-
                                              only connection to the open ocean
at this beach is negatively impacted                                                    mers. Cabrillo Beach (harborside) is
                                              is through the marina’s entry and
by untreated dry weather runoff that                                                    enclosed by a seawall that cuts the
                                              exit channel. Because it is enclosed,
flows into the ocean through a storm                                                    beach off from the open ocean. The
                                              there is little water circulation and
drain on the beach.                                                                     seawall and lack of waves do not al-
                                              bacteria and other pollution do not
The City of Dana Point has imple-             get flushed away from the beach.          low for sufficient water circulation;
mented several projects in recent             The lack of waves at this beach           as a result, bacteria and other pollut-

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                 19
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                                                                      BEACH BUMMERS

Beach Bummers (continued)                                                          TABLE 2-90: SEWAGE SPILLS IN 2018-19 BY CALIFORNIA COUNTY

                                                                                                                                    Number                 Volume of Spills    Volume that reached   # that reached
                                                                                   County
                                                                                                                                    of Spills                (in gallons)         surface water      surface water
ants can build up in the water. The
                                                                                   Del Norte County                                     5                            30,575               30,460           5
absence of large waves and a strong
                                                                                   Humboldt County                                     15                          251,910               134,902          15
current makes it a popular beach for                                               Mendocino County                                     2                             3,086                3,030           2
families with young children.                                                      Sonoma County                                       45                        2,836,110            2,833,713           45
                                                                                   Marin County                                        41                          361,657               247,861          41
In 2016, a study concluded that the
                                                                                   San Francisco County                                 4                            19,780               19,780           4
elevated Enterococcus levels were
                                                                                   Contra Costa County                                 39                        2,452,543            2,440,152           39
correlated with bird concentrations                                                Alameda County                                      32                            74,186               70,345          32
at the beach. However, this study                                                  San Mateo County                                    35                          223,606               155,107          35
also detected a human source of                                                    Santa Cruz County                                    4                            19,922               19,722           4
bacteria of unknown origin. Subse-                                                 Monterey County                                      4                             4,960                4,269           4

quent studies have tried to identify                                               SLO County                                           7                            59,500               56,500           7
                                                                                   Santa Barbara County                                 4                             2,057                   742          4
where the bacteria are coming from,
                                                                                   Ventura County                                       4                             7,990                5,130           4
but these studies were ultimately
                                                                                   Los Angeles County                                  96                        1,545,819            1,308,852           96
inconclusive. In 2017, the sewage
                                                                                   Orange County                                       28                            42,547               19,102          28
infrastructure at the beach was re-                                                San Diego County                                    23                          183,634               118,936          23
placed, but the human bacteria per-                                                Total                                              388                        8,119,882            7,468,603          388
sisted7.

                   KELLER BEACH                                                    beds themselves may also be a                                                       This beach is also surrounded on all
      9                                                                            source of bacteria as aquatic plants                                                sides by residential housing so it is
                   CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
                                                                                   have been shown to harbor FIB spe-                                                  heavily impacted by runoff.
Keller Beach South Beach is in Con-
                                                                                   cies .   8,9

tra Costa County and is making its                                                                                                                                     The City of San Mateo has a goose
first appearance on the Beach Bum-                                                                                                                                     control program in place to reduce
                                                                                                      AQUATIC PARK                                                     the impact that goose excrement has
mer list. This beach is in the San                                                      10
                                                                                                      SAN MATEO COUNTY                                                 on the water quality. The City of San
Francisco Bay and is connected to
the open ocean via the Golden Gate                                                 Aquatic Park was on the Beach Bum-                                                  Mateo is also working on improving
Strait. There is little water circulation                                          mer list in 2014 and is the second San                                              its sewer infrastructure with their Ba-
at this beach due to its lack of waves                                             Mateo County beach to make the list                                                 sin C Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation
and the surrounding seagrass beds.                                                 this year. This beach sits in a channel                                             Project, which started in 2019.
Bacteria and other pollution are not                                               within the San Francisco Bay making
easily flushed away from the beach                                                 it even more cut off from the open
and can build up. The seagrass                                                     ocean than a typical enclosed beach.

7 http://ftp.sccwrp.org/pub/download/DOCUMENTS/TechnicalReports/1068_CabrilloQMRA.pdf
8 Odonkor, S. T., J. K. Ampofo. Escherichia coli as an indicator of bacteriological quality of water: an overview. 2013. Mibiology Research volume 4:e2.
9 yappanahalli, M. N., M. B. Nevers, A. Korajkic, Z. R. Staley, V. J. Harwood. Enterococci in the Environment. 2012. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews volume 76: 685-706.

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                                                                                                           20
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                                         BEACH BUMMERS

TABLE 2-10: 2018-19 BEACH BUMMERS AND RECENT HISTORY

                                                                                 2018-19                           2017-18                      2016-17                           2015-16
                                                                        Summer    Winter        Wet       Summer    Winter    Wet      Summer    Winter     Wet          Summer     Winter    Wet
 2018-19 Beach Bummers                         County                     Dry      Dry         Weather      Dry      Dry     Weather     Dry      Dry      Weather         Dry       Dry     Weather

 1   San Clemente Pier, San Clemente           Orange County              F        D            A+            C         F      F         F        F          C             B           A      n/a

 2   Clam Beach County Park, McKinleyville     Humboldt County            F       n/a            B            F      n/a       C         F       n/a         F             F        n/a        F

 3   Linda Mar Beach, Pacifica                 San Mateo County           F       n/a            F            F         F      F         C        A          F             A           C       F

 4   Long Beach @ Coronado Avenue              Los Angeles County         F        B             F            B       A        F         C        B          F             A           A       F

 5   Cowell Beach, Santa Cruz                  Santa Cruz County          F        A             C            D       B        B         F        A          F             F         A+        D

 6   Monarch Beach, Dana Point                 Orange County              F        C             D            C         F      F         D        F          F             F           F       F

 7   Mother's Beach, Marina del Rey            Los Angeles County        D         F             F            A         F      B         D        F          F             F           F       F

 8   Cabrillo Beach (@ restrooms), San Pedro   Los Angeles County        D         F             F            D         F      F         B        B          F             A           A       D

 9   Keller Beach South, Richmond              Contra Costa County       D        n/a            A            B      n/a       A         C       n/a         D             B        n/a        A

10 Aquatic Park, San Mateo                     San Mateo County          D        n/a            A            B      n/a       F         B        B          F             C           F       F

TABLE 2-11: MOST BEACH BUMMER APPEARANCES DURING LAST DECADE

                                                           Number of    2018-19        17-18         16-17         15-16     14-15      13-14       12-13        11-12            10-11      09-10
 Beach/County                         County              appearances    Rank          Rank          Rank          Rank      Rank       Rank        Rank         Rank             Rank       Rank

Cowell Beach, Santa Cruz            Santa Cruz County          10          5               8             3          1          1          1            2             2             1          2

Cabrillo Beach at restrooms         Los Angeles County         8           8               9                                   9          4            4             6             3          3

Santa Monica Pier                   Los Angeles County         6                           7             6          5          6          7                                                   5

Clam Beach County Park              Humboldt County            6           2               4             1          2          3          6

Poche Beach, San Clemente           Orange County              5                           1                                                           3             8             5          4

Marina Lagoon, Lakeshore Park       San Mateo County           5                           2             4                     4          2            6

Mother's Beach, Marina del Rey      Los Angeles County         5           7                             9          6          2          3

Capitola Beach, Capitola            Santa Cruz County          4                                         7                                9                                        10         8

Avalon Beach, Catalina Island       Los Angeles County         4                                                                                       1             1             2          1

Monarch Beach                       Orange County              3           6                             10         4

FOR THE COMPLETE LIST OF BEACH BUMMERS DURING THE LAST DECADE, SEE PAGE 54.

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                                                                                        21
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                         ANALYSIS BY BEACH TYPE

      Monarch Beach

   2018-19                                                  OPEN OCEAN VS.
                                                            STORM DRAIN VS.
   Beaches
  with Good
   (A or B)
   Grades        Open Ocean
                  Beaches
                                Storm Drain
                                 Impacted
                                               Enclosed
                                              Waterbodies   ENCLOSED BEACHES
                                                            Not all beaches are the same when it comes to
                 99%            92%           94%           water quality. We have categorized California’s
  Summer Dry                                                beaches into three groups for our analysis:
                                                            1) Open Ocean Beaches
                                                            2) Storm Drain-impacted Beaches
                 88%            84%           84%           3) Enclosed Beaches
   Winter Dry

                                                            OPEN BEACHES
                 76%            48%           38%           Open beaches do not have obstructions between the beach
  Wet Weather                                               and open water. They experience waves and greater wa-
                                                            ter circulation than a non-open or enclosed beach. These
                                                            beaches do not have nearby storm drains, streams, or rivers.
                                                            Open beaches have better water quality than enclosed or
                                                            storm drain, stream, or river beaches, making them great for

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                          22
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                           ANALYSIS BY BEACH TYPE

BeachTypes (continued)                             FIGURE 2-12: GRADES BY TIME PERIOD & BEACH TYPE
                                                    : A+B GRADES      : C+D+F GRADES

recreation. We have classified 92 beaches as              SUMMER DRY GRADES (APRIL - OCTOBER 2018)
open. Summer Dry Grades were excellent with
                                                               Open Ocean                        Storm Drain                  Enclosed
99% of the beaches receiving A and B grades.                       (93 locations)                 (237 locations)             (93 locations)
                                                       2018        5-Year Avg.          2018        5-Year Avg.      2018     5-Year Avg.
Winter Dry Grades were good but below av-
erage with 88% of the beaches receiving A              99%            100%               92%             96%         94%            93%
and B grades.

Wet Weather Grades were good with 76% of
the beaches receiving A and B grades.

Open beaches have better water quality
than enclosed or storm drain, stream, or river                                            8%               4%          6%             7%
                                                         1%
beaches, making them great for recreation.

As indicated by the poor Wet Weather Grades,              WINTER DRY GRADES (NOVEMBER 2018 - MARCH 2019)

open beaches are still impacted by stormwa-                    Open Ocean                        Storm Drain                  Enclosed
                                                                   (66 locations)                 (157 locations)             (64 locations)
ter. We advise people to avoid contact with
                                                     2018-19       5-Year Avg.         2018-19      5-Year Avg.     2018-19   5-Year Avg.
water for at least three days following a sig-
nificant rain event.                                   88%               96%             84%             88%         84%            85%

STORM DRAIN, STREAM,
AND RIVER BEACHES
Beaches with storm drains, streams, or rivers
                                                       12%                               16%             12%          16%           15%
flowing into them receive high amounts of
                                                                            4%
runoff. We recommend swimming at least 100
yards away from storm drains, streams, and                WET WEATHER GRADES (APRIL 2018 - MARCH 2019)
rivers at the beach. Also, avoid contact with
                                                               Open Ocean                        Storm Drain                  Enclosed
the water for at least three days following a                      (88 locations)                 (222 locations)             (92 locations)

rain event. We have classified 237 beaches as        2018-19       5-Year Avg.         2018-19      5-Year Avg.     2018-19   5-Year Avg.

impacted by storm drains, streams, or rivers.          76%               79%             48%             63%         38%            31%
Summer Dry Grades were good but below                                                                                               69%
                                                                                                                      62%
average with 92% of the beaches receiving A                                              52%
and B grades.
                                                                                                         37%
Winter Dry Grades were good but below aver-            24%               21%
age with 84% of the beaches receiving A and
B grades.

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                              23
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                             ANALYSIS BY BEACH TYPE

Beach Types (continued)

Wet Weather Grades were poor and
far below average with only 49%
of the beaches receiving A and B
grades. This is likely due to the large
increase in rainfall over the last year.

Avoid contact with the water for at
least three days following a rain event.
                                                         Mother's Beach, Marina del Rey
The top six beaches on this year’s
Beach Bummer list are impacted by
                                              TABLE 2-13: SUMMER WATER QUALITY AT L.A. CO. ENCLOSED BEACHES
runoff through a storm drain, river, or
stream.                                        Beach/County                            2018-19     2017-18     2016-17    2015-16     2014-15   2013-14

                                              Mother's Beach – Playground Area
                                                                                          A           A           A           C            F       A
                                              Marina del Rey
ENCLOSED BEACHES                              Mother's Beach – Lifeguard Tower
                                                                                          A           A           A           B            F       B
                                              Marina del Rey
Enclosed beaches have obstructions
                                              Mother's Beach – bet. Tower /Dock
like a land mass or wall blocking the         Marina del Rey
                                                                                          D           A           D           F            F       F

beach from the open water. There-             Cabrillo Beach –
                                                                                          D           D           B           A            D       F
fore, these beaches do not receive            harborside @ restrooms

waves and have poor water circula-
tion. Enclosed beaches are usually
found in lagoons, marinas, and har-
                                              higher than average with 38% of the                         ity because fires damage sewage in-
bors. Due to their calm waters, en-
                                              beaches receiving A and B grades.                           frastructure and increase the amount
closed beaches are popular areas
                                                                                                          of runoff due to vegetation loss.
for small children and are frequently         Four Beach Bummers this year are
                                                                                                          We compared Winter Dry Grades
named “baby beach” or something               enclosed beaches.
                                                                                                          for Malibu beaches going back five
similar. We have classified 93 beach-
                                                                                                          years to see if there was a noticeable
es as enclosed.                               IMPACT OF FIRE                                              effect of the Woolsey Fire. We ana-
Summer Dry Grades for enclosed                In early November 2018, the Woolsey                         lyzed Winter Dry Grades because
beaches were excellent with 94% re-           Fire burned 96,949 acres of land and                        the fire happened in early November
ceiving A and B grades.                       destroyed 1,500 structures across                           and thus Summer Dry Grades would
                                              Malibu, Calabasas, and Thousand                             not capture the effects of the fire. We
Winter Dry Grades were also good
                                              Oaks . Major wildfires such as this
                                                    10
                                                                                                          also wanted to eliminate differences
with 84% of the beaches receiving A
                                              can have a big impact on water qual-                        in grades due to rainfall, therefore
and B grades.

Wet Weather Grades were poor but              https://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_details_info?incident_id=2282#main_content

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                                            24
II. WEST COAST SUMMARY                             ANALYSIS BY BEACH TYPE

Beach Types (continued)

Wet Weather Grades were not used
for comparison. However, we ac-
knowledge that the effects of heavy
rainfall may extend beyond the three
days post-rain that are classified as
wet weather.

Over the last five years, 87% of the
                                                        Woolsey Fire
Malibu beaches received A and
B Winter Dry Grades. Winter Dry
Grades this year were substantially           TABLE 2-14: EFFECTS OF FIRE ON WATER QUALITY GRADES
lower with only 57% of the beach-                                           Good Grades (A and B)   Poor Grades (C-F)
es receiving A and B grades. This
                                              Year/ No. of Grades             #             %       #             %
dropoff is particularly substantial
                                              2013-2014                21     18           86%      3            14%
considering that 100% of the beach-
es in Malibu received A and B grades          2014-2015                22     15           68%      7            32%

in the year prior to the fire. Also, in       2015-2016                20     19           95%      1             5%
the five years before the fire, the
                                              2016-2017                21     18           86%      3            14%
lowest grades for Malibu beaches
                                              2017-2018                22     22           100%     0              –
occurred in 2014-2015 with 68% re-
ceiving A and B grades. This is 11            Pre Fire Grades       106             87%                   13%

percentage points higher than the
                                              2018-2019                21     12           57%      9            43%
57% A and B grades post fire. More
                                              Post Fire Grades         21           57%                   43%
research must be done to measure
how long the impacts of this fire will
last, but we will continue to monitor
the Malibu beaches and post grades
on beachreportcard.org.

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                             25
BEACH NEWS
III. BEACH NEWS

      Santa Monica, north of Pier

BEACH NEWS: UPDATES
The Beach News section discusses some of the major issues that
impacted beach water quality over the past year.

CLIMATE CHANGE                                coastal areas on the West Coast                                                    made. Governments must continue
                                              will receive more rain11. Additionally,                                            to invest in projects that capture and
Unfortunately, climate change is in-
                                              changing patterns in rainfall coupled                                              reuse stormwater because the ben-
evitable with more and more of its            with changes in wind patterns are                                                  efits will be threefold. One, capture
impacts realized every day. At this           expected to increase the frequency                                                 and reuse prevents pollution from
point, we can only work toward limit-         and size of wildfires12.                                                           reaching the ocean, thus protecting
ing the negative impacts that climate         Governments, leaders, and the pub-                                                 public health and the natural environ-
change will have on our health and            lic must take immediate action to mit-                                             ment. Two, capture and reuse reduc-
environment. One potential impact             igate the effects of climate change                                                es the amount of water imported to
of climate change is poorer recre-            and pollution. Many local govern-                                                  Southern California and subsequent-
ational water quality along the West          ments have made enormous efforts                                                   ly reduces the fossil fuels used to
Coast. As we have shown, rain and             to identify and eliminate runoff enter-                                            transport the water. Three, the cap-
wildfire significantly decrease wa-           ing the ocean, but across the board                                                tured water could be used to restore
ter quality by increasing the amount          there are still improvements to be                                                 natural coastal habitat which can mit-
of pollution that reaches the ocean.          11 Neelin, J.D., B. Langenbrunner, J.E. Meyerson, A. Hall, N. Berg. 2013. California winter precipitation change under global warming in the coupled model
                                              intercomparison project phase 5 ensemble. Journal of Climate Vol. 26 6238-6256.
As the climate changes, most of the           12 http://www.climateassessment.ca.gov/techreports/docs/20180827-Projections_CCCA4-CEC-2018-014.pdf

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                                                                                         27
III. BEACH NEWS

Beach News (continued)                                            was secured for 2019, the funding        Cast website and app. NowCast is
                                                                  under the BEACH Act continues to         able to predict concentrations of
igate against the effects of climate                              be threatened each year, and the         bacteria in the water on a daily ba-
change such as sea level rise. In ad-                             amount has not increased signifi-        sis thus providing additional infor-
dition, governments should consider                               cantly since it was adopted in 2000.     mation to the public and filling in the
implementing policies and programs                                The Federal Government must in-          time gaps of traditional bacteria sam-
that will reduce the impacts of fire,                             crease funding for the BEACH Act so      pling. NowCast consists of computer
rain, and floods such as limits on the                            coastal states can keep their commu-     models that examine correlations
amount of development allowed in                                  nities and visitors safe and healthy.    between environmental conditions
fire and flood prone areas.                                                                                (such as temperature and tide) and
                                                                  States will also likely need to take
                                                                                                           historical bacteria concentrations.
                                                                  local action to maintain a robust
                                                                                                           Our models then predict how much
FUNDING SHORELINE                                                 recreational water quality program
                                                                                                           bacteria are present in the water
MONITORING                                                        moving forward. California funds
                                                                                                           given the current local conditions at
PROGRAMS                                                          statewide beach monitoring pro-
                                                                                                           the beach. Visit beachreportcard.org
                                                                  grams with BEACH Act resources
Going against President Donald                                                                             to find daily predictions for beaches
                                                                  as well as Senate Bill 482 (SB482),
Trump’s recommendations, the U.S.                                                                          in California. The Beach Report Card
                                                                  which funds two-thirds of the non-
Congress passed a 2019 budget that                                                                         with NowCast app is available for
                                                                  regulatory based shoreline moni-
did not make cuts to the U.S. EPA’s                                                                        free on iOS and Android devices.
                                                                  toring in the State. SB4482 Alloca-
Beaches Environmental Assessment
                                                                  tion is overseen by the State Water
and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act).
                                                                  Resources Control Board (SWRCB).         RIVER REPORT CARD
This program funds water quality
                                                                  However, the funds provided are not      This past May Heal the Bay released
monitoring in coastal U.S. areas with
                                                                  sufficient as there are many beaches     its first Annual River Report Card. The
some States, such as Oregon, rely-
                                                                  that do not get monitored, and many      River Report Card uses color-grades
ing solely on these grants to sustain
                                                                  counties do not conduct monitor-         of Red, Yellow, or Green for 27 fresh-
their monitoring program. Without
                                                                  ing year round. We recommend that        water recreation sites in Los Angeles
the BEACH Act funding, many states
                                                                  the SWRCB provide additional water       County. Grades are based on levels
would abandon their beach monitor-
                                                                  quality funding, so counties can ex-     of bacteria monitored in 2018 and
ing programs, which would be dev-
                                                                  pand their monitoring programs year      prior years.
astating to public health. Millions of
                                                                  round. The SWRCB must also ensure
people could get sick by unknow-                                                                           The River Report Card is the most
                                                                  that every beach applicable under
ingly exposing themselves to poor                                                                          comprehensive water quality report
                                                                  AB411 is monitored.
water quality. The economic cost                                                                           to date on bacterial pollution in popu-
would also be severe as coastal rec-                                                                       lar freshwater recreation areas within
reation and tourism generates well                                NOWCAST UPDATE                           the Los Angeles River Watershed, the
over $100 billion annually13.                                     For the fourth straight summer, Heal     Malibu Creek Watershed, and the San
                                                                  the Bay is providing daily water qual-   Gabriel River Watershed. These val-
While funding for the BEACH Act
                                                                  ity predictions for California Beaches   ued public places are often used for
13 https://coast.noaa.gov/data/digitalcoast/pdf/econ-report.pdf   at the Beach Report Card with Now-       swimming, wading, fishing, kayaking,

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                                    28
III. BEACH NEWS

Beach News (continued)                        do not affect public water quality no-                                          from Enterococcus exceedances
                                              tifications at the beach, which are laid                                        (according to Beach Report Card da-
and other activities, especially during       out in AB411. Despite that, the newly                                           tabase), and the World Health Orga-
summer months when communities                passed objectives are concerning                                                nization advises that at least two FIB
seek relief from hot SoCal days.              because they are not as protective                                              should be measured to properly pro-
                                              to public health as they should be.                                             tect public health16. Using the latest
Since we started monitoring freshwa-          The SWRCB increased the allowable                                               research and data, Heal the Bay sci-
ter recreation sites and making wa-           amount of Enterococcus in the water                                             entists with the help of other groups
ter quality data public, some positive        from 104 cfu/100ml to 110 cfu/100ml.                                            successfully convinced the SWRCB
changes have included increased               In other words, a waterbody can                                                 to retain fecal coliform bacterial ob-
bacterial monitoring and public no-           have more bacteria than before and                                              jectives in August 2018.
tification signage in L.A. River rec-         still be compliant. The SWRCB also
reation zones as well as increased            changed the geometric mean objec-
dissemination of water quality infor-
                                                                                                                              MEASURE W
                                              tive for Enterococcus from 35/100ml
mation to the public through emails,                                                                                          A recent success for L.A. County’s
                                              (30-day geometric mean) to 30/100ml
websites, and other online means                                                                                              water quality was the passage of
                                              (6-week geometric mean). Chang-
by government agencies collecting                                                                                             Measure W in November 2018. Heal
                                              ing the 30-day geometric mean to a
water quality information. Our annual                                                                                         the Bay played an integral role in
                                              6-week geometric mean has no sci-
River Report Card 2018 includes ad-                                                                                           the passing of Measure W, which
                                              entific basis and does not incentivize
ditional recommendations for water                                                                                            will fund stormwater improvement
                                              monitoring agencies to sample the
quality monitoring and public notifi-                                                                                         projects around the County. Heal
                                              water weekly. Monitoring agencies
cation protocols to be the most pro-                                                                                          the Bay, along with partners in the
                                              now have two extra weeks to collect
tective of public health.                                                                                                     OurWaterLA Coalition, are currently
                                              the same amount of samples, which
                                                                                                                              working to ensure that nongovern-
Before heading to a freshwater rec-           is not in the best interest of pub-
                                                                                                                              mental stakeholders have decision
reation area in L.A. County check out         lic health. Water quality information
                                                                                                                              making roles in the prioritization of
our River Report Card at healthebay.          needs to be readily available in order
                                                                                                                              projects. We want to ensure that
org/riverreportcard, which is updated         for it to be useful.
                                                                                                                              nature-based, equitable, and multi-
regularly during the summer months.           The SWRCB also proposed to re-                                                  benefit projects are prioritized and
                                              move fecal coliform bacteria from                                               implemented. We support projects
NEW BACTERIAL                                 the updated bacterial objectives.                                               that improve watershed health and
OBJECTIVES                                    This would have left Enterococcus                                               water quality, such as projects that
(ADOPTED AUGUST 2018)                         as the sole bacteria used for TMDL                                              address stormwater runoff and ex-
                                              compliance and EPA 303(d) listing.                                              pand and improve green space for
In August 2018, the SWRCB approved
                                              Removing fecal coliform objectives is                                           all.
new TMDL and 303(d) bacterial ob-
                                              problematic because fecal coliform
jectives for recreational waterbodies
                                              exceedances are often independent
to align the objectives with the U.S.
EPA’s 2012 Recreational Water Qual-
                                              14 https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/bacterialobjectives
ity Criteria14,15. These new objectives       15 https://www.epa.gov/wqc/2012-recreational-water-quality-criteria-documents
                                              16 https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/bathing/srwg1.pdf

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                                                      29
COUNTY SUMMARIES
IV. CALIFORNIA COUNTY SUMMARIES

      Malaga Cove, Palos Verdes Estates

COASTAL COUNTIES: CALIFORNIA
Heal the Bay provides Beach Report Card grades for all coastal counties
in California from Del Norte to San Diego. Here is a brief summary of
each county’s monitoring program over the past year, water quality
grades, rainfall amounts, and a summary of sewage spills.

Note: All averages below refer to the five-year-average unless otherwise indicated.

Heal the Bay provides a summer                         Grades are categorized as wet weath-     to see differences in dry versus wet
(AB411) dry grade and a winter dry                     er for any sample taken throughout       weather water quality.
grade for a beach if the public agen-                  the whole year (April 1, 2018 to March   Sewage     spill   data   is   obtained
cy collected weekly samples for at                     31, 2019) during or within 72 hours of   through the State Water Resources
least 75% of the monitoring time-pe-                   a rain event of at least 0.10 inches.    Control Board’s SSO (Sanitary Sewer
riod. To receive a summer dry grade,                   The difference in frequency of rain      Overflow) online database. Only Cat-
there had to be at least 23 samples                    events between counties makes it         egory 1 sewage data is recorded for
collected between April 1 and Octo-                    impossible to determine a minimum        each county. Category 1 describes
ber 31. For a winter dry grade, there                  sampling threshold for a grade. Thus,    discharges of untreated or partially
had to be at least 16 samples collect-                 Heal the Bay generates a grade for       treated wastewater of any volume
ed between November 1, 2018 and                        wet weather regardless of the sam-       resulting from a sanitary sewage sys-
March 31, 2019.                                        ple size. This enables beachgoers        tem failure.

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                          31
IV. CALIFORNIA COUNTY SUMMARIES                                                      SAN DIEGO

San Diego County                                                                                                      San Diego County Grades

                                                                                                             2018-2019                             5-Year Avg. (2013-2018)
Summer Dry Grades were excellent and close to the five-                                      Summer Dry*     Winter Dry     Wet Weather Summer Dry*         Winter Dry     Wet Weather
                                                                                               #       %      #        %     #       %     #         %      #       %        #       %
year average with 97% of the beaches receiving A and B
                                                                                       A       72      95%    33      73%     27     60%   69        94%    34      88%      37      66%
grades.
                                                                                       B           2   3%         5   11%        4   9%        3      4%        1   4%           6   10%
Wet Weather Grades were poor and lower than average
                                                                                       C           2   3%         3    7%        1   2%        1      1%        0   1%           4    6%
with only 69% of the beaches receiving A and B grades.
                                                                                       D           0   0%         3    7%        2   4%        0      1%        1   2%           2    4%
Winter Dry Grades were good but lower than average with
                                                                                       F           0   0%         1    2%     11     24%       0      1%        2   6%           8   14%
only 84% of beaches receiving A and B grades.
                                                                                     Total     71             45              45           73               38               56
A total of 12 beaches made it on the Honor Roll comprising                           *State AB411 monitoring April thru October. Percentages may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

over a third of the beaches on the list.
                                                                                                                       Sewage Spill Summary
San Diego County received 12 inches of rain, which is 37%
higher than the historical average of nine inches. This may                                                                   118,936
                                                                                                                     GALLONS OF SEWAGE
account for the lower than average Wet Weather and Win-                                      Total volume reported to have reached a waterbody in San Diego County
ter Dry Grades since most of the rainfall occurred in the
winter months.
                                                                                                                              Honor Roll
There were 23 sewage spills across the County amounting                                                                                                  Summer     Winter        Wet
                                                                                                                                                           Dry       Dry         Weather
to 183,634 gallons. Oceanside and Del Mar beaches were
                                                                                      Oceanside, projection of Cassidy Street                              A+         A+             A+
impacted by spills.
                                                                                      Carlsbad, projection of Cerezo Drive                                 A+         A+             A+
A complete list of grades for San Diego County’s beach monitoring locations can be
                                                                                      Carlsbad, projection of Palomar Airport Road                         A+         A+             A+
found in Appendix B-1.
Monitoring agencies in San Diego County:                                              Carlsbad, Encina Creek outlet                                        A+         A+             A+
• The City of Oceanside
• The City of San Diego                                                               Carlsbad, projection of Ponto Drive                                  A+         A+             A+
• Encina Wastewater Authority
• San Elijo Joint Powers Authority                                                    Carlsbad, projection of Pointsettia Lane                             A+         A+             A+
• Port of San Diego
• The County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health (DEH)
                                                                                      Encinitas, San Elijo State Park, north end                           A+         A+             A+
For additional water quality information:                                             Encinitas, San Elijo State Park, Liverpool Drive                     A+         A+             A+
County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health
www.sdbeachinfo.com                                                                   Cardiff State Beach, Charthouse parking lot                          A+         A+             A+
                                                                                      Cardiff State Beach, Las Olas                                        A+         A+             A+
                                                                                      Cardiff State Beach, Seaside State park                              A+         A+             A+
                                                                                      Solana Beach, Tide Beach Park                                        A+         A+             A+

HEAL THE BAY // 2018-2019 BEACH REPORT CARD                                                                                                                                           32
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