CA Beaches Graded A+ Through F: Heal The Bay's Beach Report Card

CALIFORNIA – There's one silver lining to the state drifting back to drought-like conditions — Southern California beaches are healthier, according to a report released this week by environmental group Heal the Bay. Beach-water quality, however, dipped in Northern California.

Heal the Bay surveyed more than 400 beaches statewide and assigned letter grades, A-plus through F, to each beach. A record 37 beaches in California received a perfect A-plus score.

With less rain, less bacterial pollution flowed into the ocean over the past year, according to Heal the Bay's 28th annual Beach Report Card.

About 95 percent of the beaches monitored in Southern California earned A grades during the busy summer season, which is up 5 percent from the reporting period's five-year average, according to Heal the Bay. In Northern California, about 88 percent of the beaches monitored received an A or B grade for the summer season. The beach-water quality dipped slightly in Northern California, driven in large part by polluted beaches in Humboldt and San Mateo counties, according to the report.

Seven Northern California beaches and three Southern California beaches landed on Heal the Bay's Beach Bummer List, which ranks the 10 most polluted beaches in the state. Several beaches in Southern Californianamed as 2016-17 Beach Bummers fell off the 2017-18 list, including La Jolla Cove in San Diego and Mother's Beach in Marina Del Rey, which dropped off the list for the first time since 2013.

Heal the Bay's Beach Bummer List:

1. Poche Beach at channel outlet, San Clemente, Orange County
2. Lakeshore Park, Marina Lagoon, San Mateo, San Mateo County
3. Linda Mar Beach at San Pedro Creek, San Mateo County
4. Clam Beach County Park, McKinleyville, Humboldt County
5. Roosevelt Beach, Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County
6. Luffenholtz Beach, Trinidad, Humboldt County
7. Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, Los Angeles County
8. Cowell Beach, west of Wharf, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County
9. Cabrillo Beach, harborside, San Pedro, Los Angeles County
10. Surfer's Beach, Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County

Other Highlights of the Report:

• About 97 percent of Los Angeles County's monitored beaches received A or B grades for the busy summer period (April-October 2017), up 6 percent from the reporting period's five-year average.
• About 94 percent of Orange County's monitored beaches received A grades for the summer.
• All of Ventura County's monitored beaches received A grades for the eighth consecutive year for the summer.
• San Diego County's monitored beached scored top summer marks, with 100 percent of 69 monitored sites receiving A or B grades. However, wet-weather grades fell significantly below the five-year average.
• Santa Barbara County's monitored beaches all received A or B grades in the summer, but half of them earned D or F grades for the rainy season (November 2017-March 2018).
• San Francisco County's monitored beaches outperformed their five-year summer average, with 100 percent receiving A or B grades.
• Seven out of eight monitored beaches in Alameda and Contra Costa counties received A or B grades for the summer.
• Santa Cruz County's monitored beaches received grades well above average, with 92 percent earning A or B grades for summer and 88 percent earning A or B grades for the rainy season.
• Sonoma and Mendocino counties boasted stellar water quality, with all their monitored beaches
  receiving A grades for both the summer and winter seasons.
• Marin County also fared well, with all their monitored beaches receiving A or B grades.

Heal the Bay's full report is available at www.beachreportcard.org.

Image via Shutterstock