According to Heal the Bay, a Southern California non-profit organization that monitors California beaches, their annual survey provides essential water quality information to the millions of people who swim, surf, or dive in California coastal waters.
The report card grades over 350 locations year-round (about 460 locations in dry weather from April to October) on an A-F scale based on the risk of adverse health effects to swimmers and surfers. The grades are based on daily and weekly fecal bacteria pollution levels in the surfzone. The 2007-2008 Annual Beach Report Card shows that most beaches had very good water quality.
Dry weather water quality at beaches in San Diego County was excellent. Of the 55 year-round water quality monitoring locations, 96% received good-to-excellent water quality marks. San Diego County’s water quality during the summer dry weather time period was even better, with all of the monitored locations receiving an A or B grade -- even the notoriously polluted beaches at P.B. Point, Mission Bay, and the beaches near the Tijuana River estuary.
Only two of 55 locations in San Diego County received fair-to-poor water quality marks during the year-round dry weather time period. Poor water quality was found at the Tijuana Slough at the Tijuana Rivermouth, and ¾ mile north of the Tijuana Rivermouth.
The percentage of sites that earned a grade of A or B during the year-round dry weather (96%) was one of the cleanest years on record and well above the last four-year’s average for San Diego County (87%) (Figures 5 and 6). Wet weather percentages were substantially better than the past averages, with 67% good-to-excellent grades this year compared to an average of 59% for the previous four years.
Compared to open ocean beaches, beaches located within enclosed bays tend to have reduced tidal circulation and are more susceptible to long-term pollution problems. However, some of the bayside swimming spots that received very good-to-excellent grades during the measuring time period for at least the last four years are in Mission Bay (Ventura Cove and Fanuel Park) and in San Diego Bay (Silver Strand).
So, what beaches are good places to take the family and not worry about water quality? Well, pretty much all of our most popular beaches. In 2007-2008, 96% beaches received A or A+ grades during the dry weather period surveyed (when the coast is not susceptible to rain water runoff). Popular beaches such as San Onofre, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Torrey Pines, La Jolla Shores, Pacific Beach Crystal Pier, Ocean Beach Pier, Coronado, Silver Strand, and (north) Imperial Beach typically have excellent water quality.
So, given the expanse of coastline in the county, we can feel pretty good about taking a dip in our local beaches during normal conditions. And that's a good thing to know.
