8 Beaches Get Failing Grades From Activists : Pollution: Heal the Bay criticizes county for not warning the public about high bacteria levels and not closing the areas.

An environmental group that has been monitoring pollution in Santa Monica Bay gave failing grades Saturday to the waters off eight Los Angeles County beaches and criticized county public health officials for not posting warnings to swimmers more often.

At a news conference at Santa Monica Pier, members of Heal the Bay said that of 48 beaches rated, those at Santa Monica Pier, Redondo Beach Pier and Marina del Rey most frequently exceeded state standards for bacterial levels. Other areas to receive failing grades were Malibu Point, the mouth of Los Flores Creek, Ballona Creek and the Pico-Kenter and Ashland storm drains.

The 1991 findings were influenced by the heavy runoff from the March rains, said Heal the Bay scientist Mark Gold. He said other findings released in the report for the entire years of 1989 and 1990 were better indicators of the average bacterial levels at specific beaches.

Nevertheless, the group’s report showed that five of the beaches failing so far in 1991 also failed in 1990.

Heal the Bay spokesmen sharply criticized the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, which monitors the surf, for failing to adequately warn the public about potential health dangers. The department has closed beaches 13 times since 1989.

“Almost every day in California there are beaches that exceed the standards of the (state’s) Ocean Plan, but seldom are the beaches closed,” said Adi Liberman, Heal the Bay’s executive director. “This (report) is one step to let people know what’s going on.”

County officials could not be reached for comment.

The group purposely timed the release of its report card to the Memorial Day weekend, the beginning of Southern California’s summer beach season in which about 60 million people are expected to flock to its beaches, Liberman said.

The report issued grades from A to F- based on data compiled by the county health department and the Los Angeles Hyperion Environmental Monitoring Division from 1989 through the beginning of 1991. Levels of bacteria found in water samples were compared to standards stated in the state’s Ocean Plan, and the beaches were given separate grades for 1989, 1990 and 1991.

“What this brings out is there’s a problem with our beaches, and we have a health services agency that basically ignores this,” Gold said. He added that swimmers should not go within 100 yards of a beach that received a D or F.

Most of those beaches were near piers, where a high number of people were swimming and polluting the water with trash, and where there were risks of leakage from sewer lines and storm drains. Beaches near highly populated and developed areas also show high bacterial levels because of pollution from storm drain runoff.

The beaches that received A ratings for 1991 were in less developed areas. Among those were Zuma, Leo Carrillo, and El Pescador beaches.

The most consistent violator of state standards was Ballona Creek, which received an F- for every year. It “exceeded all standards 40% to 80% of the time and there aren’t any beach warning signs around Ballona Creek,” Gold said.

In 1991, 78% of water samples taken daily from the creek exceeded the state standards for bacteria that indicate the presence of fecal matter, according to the environmental group’s report.

In such areas that consistently show excessive levels of bacteria, “there should be more investigation as to what causes problems,” Gold said. “And you might want to think about swimming a little further away from those places.”

Report Card For L.A. Beaches

Here is Heal the Bay’s rating of the health of Los Angeles County beaches, based on water monitoring throughout 1990:

BEACH: GRADE (1990) Zuma Beach: A Latigo Shore Drive (2600 block): A Malibu Point: B Mouth of Los Flores Creek: A Topanga Beach: A Pulga Canyon (storm drains): C Santa Monica (storm drain north): A Santa Monica (storm drain south): C Santa Monica Pier: F Pico-Kenter (storm drains): F Ashland (storm drain south): D Windward (storm drains): B Marina del Rey Beach (Mother’s Beach): F Ballona Creek: F- Playa del Rey: C El Segundo: A Manhattan Beach: A Hermosa Beach: A Redondo Pier (King Harbor north): F Redondo Pier (King Harbor south): D Avenue I (Torrance): C This is what the letter grades indicate: A--State standards for ocean pollution violated less than 15% of the time for three bacterial indicators (total coliform, fecal coliform and enterococcus bacteria). B--One standard violated 15%-20% of the time. C--One standard violated more than 20% or two standards violated more than 15% of the time. D--Two standards violated more than 20% of the time or one standard violated more than 40% of the time. F--All three standards violated more than 20% of the time or two standards violated more than 30% of the time. SOURCE: Heal the Bay.