Santa Monica Beach on State's Most Polluted Beaches

SANTA MONICA, CA - While ocean water quality at Southern California beaches is continuing to improve, thanks in part to a lack of rain runoff attributable to the continuing drought, but Santa Monica is still home of one of the 10 most polluted beaches in the State, according to a report released Thursday.

According to the 26th annual Beach Report Card prepared by environmental group Heal the Bay, 92 percent of Los Angeles County's 88 beaches scored A or B grades in terms of pollutants during the summer months of April to October of last year. The results were roughly on par with the previous year's results, but a 6 percent boost over the county's average for the past five years.

But Santa Monica Pier landed on the group's annual "Beach Bummers" lists of the state most polluted beaches, as did two other beaches in Los Angeles County -- the most of any county in the state.

The group said the pier suffered from chronic pollution problem from polluted strom drains, however, the city is working on diverting storm water to a treatment plant.

Santa Monica Pier was ranked fifth on the list, Mother's Beach in Marina del Rey was sixth and Redondo Municipal Pier was seventh.

Orange County had one beach on the most-polluted list -- Monarch Beach in the Dana Point area.

"A day at the beach shouldn't make anyone sick," said Leslie Griffin, chief water quality scientist for Heal the Bay. "The reassuring news is that if you swim at an open-ocean beach in the summer away from storm drains, creek mouths and piers you stand very little risk of getting ill."

According to Heal the Bay, swimming at a polluted beach can increase the risk of illness such as stomach flu, ear infections, upper respiratory infections and rashes.

The report noted that five beaches in Los Angeles County were listed on the group's Honor Roll, recognizing beaches that received A+ grades during the three time periods included in the report:

• El Matador State Beach at Encinal Canyon;
• Escondido State Beach east of Escondido Creek;
• Long Point at Rancho Palos Verdes;
• Abalone Cove Shoreline Park in Rancho Palos Verdes; and
• Portuguese Bend Cove, also at Rancho Palos Verdes.

Orange County had 12 beaches on the Honor Roll, including three in Dana Point and two in San Clemente.

Statewide, 95 percent of the 456 beaches monitored earned A or B grades during the summer months.

--City News Service contributed to this report, photo via Shutterstock