Montara State Beach Makes Honor Roll for Excellent Water Quality

Californians heading to the beach this summer can take heart in yet another rise in beach water quality, according to Heal the Bay's 23rd annual Beach Report Card, which highlights several San Mateo County beaches including Montara State Beach that have earned high marks for beach water quality year-round.

Heal the Bay, an environmental nonprofit organization based in Santa Monica that uses science, education, community action and advocacy to make California’s coastal waters and watersheds safe, healthy and clean, released the 2013 Beach Report Card Thursday, providing a summary of the past year’s water quality at more than 600 beach monitoring locations along the West Coast.

The A-to-F grades assigned to each location represent the risk of adverse health effects to beachgoers. The better the grade a beach receives, the lower the risk of contracting an illness from water recreation at that location. 

Some 413 beaches,  or 93% received A or B grades during the summer (April-October 2012). That figure marks a one percent uptick from last year.

The improvement in statewide water quality during all three phases of the study’s 2012-13 reporting period can be attributed to several factors, according to the report. Infrastructure improvements aimed at curbing bacterial pollution in dense urban centers have yielded results, but two years of very low rainfall in Southern California seems to have played a major role in improved grades. Rainstorms greatly increase the amount of urban runoff, the greatest source of bacterial pollution at local beaches.

Overall, only 14 of the beaches (3%) monitored statewide received D or F grades during summer dry weather, when most beachgoers typically use the ocean. High bacteria counts at these sites are linked to such potential illnesses as stomach flu, ear infections and major skin rashes.

The top 10 beach bummers, or beaches that rank as the most polluted, are:
   
1. Avalon Harbor Beach on Catalina Island (L.A. County)
2. Cowell Beach – at the wharf (Santa Cruz County)
3. Poche Beach (Orange County)
4. Cabrillo Beach harborside (Los Angeles County)
5. Malibu Pier (L.A. County)
6. Marina Lagoon (San Mateo County)
7. Doheny State Beach (Orange County)
8. Redondo Beach Pier (Los Angeles County)
9. Windsurfer Circle at Candlestick Point (San Francisco County)
10. Tijuana River Mouth (San Diego County)  

In the Bay Area, 94% of locations (San Mateo to Marin counties) received A or B grades for the summer in the report, slightly above the state’s five-year summer average. In San Mateo County, the County of San Mateo Environmental Health monitored 23 ocean and bayside locations on a weekly basis during the summer months, from as far upcoast as Sharp Park Beach in Pacifica to a downcoast location at Gazos Creek in Pescadero. Eighteen of these locations were monitored year round and earned grades for all time periods.

San Mateo County beaches had excellent summer dry weather water quality this past year. Twenty-one of 23 (91%) beach monitoring locations received A or B grades during this time period. The County’s only poor grades during summer dry weather were at Aquatic Park (F grade) and Lakeshore Park (D grade). As a result these two Marina Lagoon beaches share the No. 6 spot on this year’s statewide Beach Bummer list. The residual effects from a December 2012 sewage spill likely contributed to Marina Lagoon’s poor water quality grades.

The number of A and B grades during wet weather in San Mateo slipped 27% from Heal the Bay’s last report to 44% this past year (25% below the state average of 69% A or B grades during wet weather).

There were three known sewage spills that led to beach closures in San Mateo County this past year. Both Lakeshore Park and Aquatic Park on the Marina Lagoon were closed on Dec. 3, 2012 due to a sewer overflow. Lakeshore Park was re-opened on Jan. 2, 2013 and Aquatic Park remained closed through the end of the timeframe of this report (re- opened May 1, 2013) due to lingering elevated bacteria levels. The beach at the end of West Point Avenue in outer Pillar Point Harbor was closed for 13 days beginning on Dec. 27, 2012, due to a sewage spill at West Point and Princeton Avenue. Also in outer Pillar Point Harbor, the beach at Capistrano Beach was closed as a precaution on March 19, 2013, for five days due to elevated bacteria levels that the health department has investigated as potentially impacted by a sewage release.

On the other hand, Montara State Beach at Martini Creek earned A+ for excellent beach water quality all year. Thirty-four monitoring locations in California also exhibited excellent water quality during all three time periods in the report and have been appointed to California’s Honor Roll this year as well.

Heal the Bay urges beachgoers to check the latest water quality grades, based on the latest samples, each week at beachreportcard.org. Before heading to the shoreline, visitors can also access the latest grades on the go by downloading Heal the Bay’s free app for mobile devices.