These California Beaches May Not Be Safe For Swimming

Plenty of summer days remain for California residents to enjoy the beach but a new report finds that the state’s beaches may not always safe for swimming and the filthy waters can lead to illness.

Looking at bacteria sampling data collected by authorities in 29 states and Puerto Rico, the report authors found that more than half the beaches tested were potentially unsafe for swimming on at least one day in 2018. The analysis also showed that 610 beaches were potentially unsafe on 25 percent of the days they were tested for bacteria.

Beaches cited in the report posed a swimming risk if the bacteria samples exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Beach Action Value,” which is a stricter threshold than recommended by the agency for recreational water. The “Beach Action Value” used in the report corresponds to an estimated 32 illnesses for every 1,000 swimmers. One of the report’s recommendations to make beaches safer is to use the stricter EPA standard for making decisions on advisories and closures.

In California, 466 of 584 beach sites sampled were potentially unsafe for at least one day in 2018.

A sampling site at Inner Cabrillo Beach in Los Angeles County was potentially unsafe for 85 days, more than any other site in the state, according to the report.

• Inner Cabrillo Beach, Los Angeles County, 85 potentially unsafe days
• Coronado Ave. Beach, Los Angeles County, 62 potentially unsafe days
• Salt Creek Beach, Orange County, 46 potentially unsafe days
• Molino Ave. Beach, Los Angeles County, 45 potentially unsafe days
• 5th Place Beach, Los Angeles County, 44 potentially unsafe days
• Malibu Lagoon State Beach, Los Angeles County, 43 potentially unsafe days
• San Pedro Creek, San Mateo County, 43 potentially unsafe days
• Prospect Ave-Beach, Los Angeles County, 42 potentially unsafe days
• West Side Of Belmont Pier, Los Angeles County, 41 potentially unsafe days

Waters polluted with sewage or fecal matter can make swimmers sick, and millions of waterborne illnesses are reported each year in the United States, the report says. The report by the Environment America Research & Policy Center looked at data for 2018 collected by local and federal officials from 4,523 beaches.

To make waters safer for swimming, the report says pollution from urban runoff, sewage and manure needs to be curtailed.

Read the full report from the Environment America Research & Policy Center.