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San Mateo County Beaches Receive Failing Grades From Heal the Bay
Poor water quality is often found at beaches near flowing storm drains, piers and enclosed water bodies with inadequate circulation.
San Mateo County beaches Pillar Point Harbor, Aquatic Park and Lakeshore Park were issued failing grades according to the 2013 End of Summer Beach Report Card® issued Thursday by the environmental group Heal the Bay.
Overall, the water quality of California beaches was excellent for the seventh consecutive summer.
In its latest survey, Heal the Bay assigned an A-to-F letter grade to 450 beaches along the California coast based on levels of bacterial pollution reported weekly from Memorial Day to Aug. 21. This summer, 96% of sites earned A or B grades, the same percentage as in last year’s seasonal report.
Half Moon Bay Patch reported the beaches in Pillar Point Harbor at Westpoint Avenue by the green pier have been closed since Dec. 27, 2012, due to storm-related sanitary sewer overflows and will be closed until further notice.
Heading into the end-of-summer Labor Day holiday, ocean users can take comfort in steadily improving water quality grades over the past decade. The completion of dozens of infrastructure improvements to divert and/or treat pollute runoff has played the major role in rising grades during the past 10 years.
Some 14 beaches statewide scored D or F grades in this summer’s report. Los Angeles County, which historically has the worst water quality in the state, and San Mateo County accounted for the majority of the D and F grades.
Poor water quality is often found at beaches near flowing storm drains, piers and enclosed water bodies with inadequate circulation. The worse grade a location receives, the greater the risk of such serious illness as stomach flu, ear infections, upper respiratory infections and skin rashes.
The other beaches that scored failing marks this summer: Los Angeles County’s Cabrillo Beach-harborside; Santa Cruz County’s Cowell Beach; Monterey County’s Stillwater Cove and Humboldt County’s Clam Beach County Park.
The counties with perfect summer water-quality grades at monitored locations this year are, Ventura, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco and Mendocino.
For a county-by-county breakdown with information on regional trends and specific beaches, please visit healthebay.org/brcsummer.
There is also a local group that tests the water weekly. Sites are sampled every Monday morning by a combination of County staff and volunteers, primarily associated with the local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation www.surfridersmc.org.
