Grades Are Out: SoCal Beaches Ranked By Water Quality

Your favorite California beach just got its report card.

Nonprofit environmental advocacy group Heal the Bay’s 2014-2015 Annual Beach Report Card is out, grading water quality and making recommendations to make beaches cleaner for public safety.

Covering water quality during summer dry weather from April to October, winter dry weather from November to March, and wet weather year-round, the report also accounts for the number of sewage spills at each beach during the past year.

Although grades rose for LA County beaches, with 94 percent of beaches receiving an A or B for the summer period, the increase is likely caused by the drought, since there is less runoff polluting the ocean water.

Wet weather quality was lower, as expected due to water runoff. With 62 percent of LA County beaches allotted an A or B grade, the overall wet weather quality in LA County remains lower than the statewide average.

Orange County beaches had high grades for summer weather, as 95 percent of locations received an A. Only one beach in Orange County scored below a B.

However, wet weather quality reached a new low, after only 49 percent of beaches were given an A or B grade.

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Ventura County received a stellar report card. 100 percent of its beaches were given A grades for summer weather. In wet weather conditions, 89 percent of beaches received A or B grades.

Since spills were recorded through March 2015, Santa Barbara County also received high water quality grades, despite the oil spill last month.

100 percent of its beaches were awarded A grades during summer weather, and 88 percent of locations were given an A or B for wet weather water quality.

Three LA County beaches made the "Beach Bummers" list. Mother’s Beach in Marina del Rey took the number two spot; Santa Monica Municipal Pier came in at number six; and Cabrillo Beach, harborside, was number nine on the annual list.

"This is a public health concern for the region’s many year-round surfers, swimmers, and divers," said Sarah Sikich, vice president of Heal the Bay. "With drought threatening local water supplies, Heal The Bay is advocating for projects that capture, cleanse, and reuse runoff rather than dumping it uselessly out to sea."

Orange County’s Huntington Beach at Brookhurst was also added as a "Beach Bummer" this year at number ten, which may be from the choice to move the beach’s sample location closer to suspected pollution sources.

On the bright side, the 13 beaches listed below from LA County, Orange County, Ventura County and Santa Barbara County, all made the 2014-2015 "Honor Roll."