Dry Summer Has Helped California Beaches Keep Bacterial Pollution Low

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Main Category: Water - Air Quality / Agriculture
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses;  GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology;  Dermatology
Article Date: 28 Sep 2007 - 9:00 PDT

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Environmental group Heal the Bay released a new beach report card yesterday, Thursday, which announced excellent water quality was maintained over the summer across nearly all of California's beaches, resulting in low levels of bacterial pollution and the best overall summer grades in recent memory.

Using data collected at nearly 500 monitoring points from Humboldt County to San Diego County, the report card gives California's beachgoers an indicator of water quality on the state's beaches.

The locations are graded from A to F, from surveillance data collected every week between late May and early September. And this time, only 8 per cent of them "failed" to make grades A and B, said the report.

The water samples from the various monitoring locations are examined for bacteria that can come from a number of sources, including fecal waste from sewage.

The better the grade, the lower the risk that visitors to the particular beach will become ill. The report does not assess pollution from trash or toxins on the beaches.

The bacterial assessment takes into account for example, four criteria: the amount of Enterococcus, the amount of Fecal Coliform, the amount of Total Coliform, and the ratio of Total to Fecal Coliform.

Heal the Bay suggest two reasons for the mostly good report. One is thought to be the low levels of rainfall this summer. Wet weather encourages bacteria to colonize overloaded storm drains and sewage pipes. The colonies then wash out to sea and pollute beaches.

Swimming in water polluted with bacteria that has bred in sewage pipes and storm drains causes skin infections and rashes, respiratory infections and gastrointestinal infections.

The other reason for the mostly good report is thought to be improvements in the infrastructure of pipes, drainage and sewage treatment systems.

Executive Director of Heal the Bay, Mark Gold, remarked it was good to talk about good news for a change, and that this year was "exceptional".

Overall, 92 per cent of beaches received grades A and B, this is nearly 10 per cent better than last year, when only 83 per cent got As and Bs.

Santa Monica Bay exhibited water quality of 93 per cent As and Bs, slightly above the statewide average.

38 locations out of nearly 500 received fair to poor quality grades: 8 Cs, 10 Ds and 20 Fs.

Of the 20 grade Fs, 17 were in Los Angeles, one was in Humboldt, another in San Luis Obispo, and one more in Orange County.

If Los Angeles County were removed from the grading, then 96 per cent of beaches statewide would fall into the A or B category.

Long Beach showed moderate improvement compared with last year, but was still "by far the worst in the state", said the report.

Click here to view the full report.

Written by: Catharine Paddock
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