Venice Beaches Receive High Marks from Heal the Bay
Venice Beach spots received high grades in the annual beach report card issued Thursday by the nonprofit group Heal the Bay.
Five Venice Beach areas received "A" ratings during dry weather, summer months from samples collected 50 yards south of the Venice Pier, at Topsail Street, at the Rose Avenue storm drain, at the Brooks Avenue drain and at the Windward Avenue drain. In the winter dry weather grades, the beaches at Brooks Avenue, south of the Venice Pier and at Topsail Street earned "A+" grades, with the other two receiving "A" grades.
Most of the beaches in Los Angeles County, including Venice Beach, continued to notch failing grades when wet weather was factored into the scores. During rainy weather, storm water diversion systems typically can't capture all of the polluted runoff that gushes toward the ocean.
In year-round wet weather, the Rose Avenue drain site received an "F" grade with the Brooks Avenue drain and Topsail Street receiving "D" grades. Windward Avenue and south of the pier both got "A" grades in wet weather.
The Santa Monica-based nonprofit's beach report card showed 82 percent of Los Angeles County beaches earning A or B grades during dry summer weather, a seven percent improvement over last year, but still well below the statewide average of 92 percent.
“That’s good news for L.A. beach-goers at a majority of beach locations,” said Kirsten James, water quality director for Heal the Bay.
Heal the Bay attributed the improvement to ongoing infrastructure improvements, mainly storm water diversion systems that keep bacteria-laden runoff from washing into the ocean.
A press conference held to announce the results of the 2011-12 report card took place at the beach in Pacific Palisades, where construction is underway on an $8 million diversion system.
The report grades more than 650 locations from San Diego County to Whatcom County, WA, in the summer dry weather between April and October and the winter dry weather between November and March. There are separate grades for year-round wet weather. Beaches that earn As and Bs pose less of a health risk to swimmers, who can get sick with the stomach flu, ear infections and skin rashes when water quality is poor.
“No beach should make you sick,” James said.
All county health departments are required to test beach water quality samples for three types of indicator bacteria at least once a week during the summer season. Heal the Bay compiles the data, analyzes it and assigns the letter grades.
Heal the Bay said one of the reasons Los Angeles County beaches scored lower than their neighbors in Orange and Ventura, was because L.A. County monitoring agencies collect samples directly in front of storm drains and creeks that channel runoff into the ocean. Orange and Ventura counties monitor 25 yards or more away from those sources.
A handful of significantly polluted beaches helped drag down L.A. County's overall grades, most notably in Malibu. The city claimed four of the 10 spots on Heal the Bay’s Beach Bummer list, a ranking of the 10 most polluted beaches in the state: Puerco Beach, Dan Blocker, Surfrider and Escondido. Other county sites on the "beach bummers" were Topanga State Beach and the harbor side of Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro.
In total, 11 beaches in Los Angeles County received F grades during the summer, up from last year’s nine.
Heal the Bay provides current grades based on the latest monitoring data
right here.
