Los Angeles Beaches Among State's Best and Worst for Water Pollution
Heal the Bay, a local environmental nonprofit group for clean water, released its annual California Beach Report Card in June. The list measures water pollution at beaches around the state, tracking progress over time and also looking at pre- and post-drought conditions.
According to the study, two of the state’s most polluted beaches were located right in Los Angeles. The Santa Monica Pier area and Marina del Rey’s Mother’s Beach both received “D” grades on the report card, as the sixth- and ninth-dirtiest beaches, respectively. Four beaches received “F’ grades, including the San Clemente Pier in Orange County.
The news wasn’t all bad for LA, however. Four more county beaches also managed to receive “A+” grades. In Malibu, El Matador State Beach and Malibu Point were included on the list’s honor roll. Palos Verdes Estates’ Bluff Cove and Rancho Palos Verdes’s Portuguese Bend Cove also received high marks.
A large collection of Orange County beaches ended up on the honor roll as well, with Newport Beach grabbing four spots and Laguna Beach getting seven. Dana Point (two) and San Clemente’s Poche Beach also saw mentions among the A+ beaches.
Summer dry weather (April through October) scores have been trending upward in LA County from 2011 to 2016, as 93 percent of Los Angeles beaches received an “A” score this time around — much higher than the average of 76 percent over the entire time frame.
That said, wet weather grades were far less positive, and the county had the largest number of recorded sewage spills (108) of any measured California county in the 2016-17 span. The county is showing overall progress but there’s still plenty of work to be done to get its beaches clean and safe year-round.