Marin County Beaches Graded: Heal The Bay's Beach Report Card

MARIN COUNTY, CA – Heal The Bay, which annually rates water quality at beaches along the West Coast, gave Marin County a near perfect score.

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

Marin's water quality monitoring program, overseen by the county's Community Development Agency's Environmental Health Services Division, gathered data from 23 bayside and oceanside locations. Nineteen of the locations earned A-plus wet-weather ratings year-round and the other four received A grades, according to Heal the Bay's 28th annual Beach Report Card. Only three locations received B grades during the summer season, from April through October 2017.

In Marin, Baker Beach, Bolinas Beach, China Camp State Park, McNears Beach, Muir Beach, Rodeo Beach, Schoonmaker Beach, Stinson Beach and seven beaches on Tomales Bay are tested regularly.

According to the report, Marin experienced 17 sewage spills that reached a body of water in 2017, half the total from 2016. Four health warnings were issued and one beach closure took place over the past year. Two Marin spills were considered major (more than 10,000 gallons), three were minor (1,000 to 10,000 gallons), and 12 were small (less than 1,000 gallons).

Rain greatly impacts the water quality ratings by flushing contaminants and bacteria sources from streets, including trash, fertilizer, pet waste, metals, and automotive fluids, into urban waterways. The untreated runoff drains directly into the ocean and results in elevated bacteria levels. During the rainy season, from November 2017 through March 2018, 28 percent of beaches statewide received D or F grades on water quality, matching the state's five-year average. In Northern California, 17 percent of water quality samples received D or F grades, compared to 35 percent in Southern California.

California had excellent water quality during the summer dry season, with 96 percent of beaches receiving an A or B grade. Higher grades are indicative of better water quality and a lower health risk for people in the water. Winter dry grades were worse this year, with only 77 percent receiving an A grade compared with the five-year average of 81 percent.

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

Marin County Beach Grades:

Photo: Rodeo Beach on the western side of the Marin Headlands. Photo courtesy County of Marin