Beach Pollution Lessened Over Summer, Group Says

Some of the most popular beaches from Malibu to the Palos Verdes Peninsula showed signs of improvement over the last three months, according to a report card on pollution in the Santa Monica Bay issued by Heal the Bay, an environmental group.

The beach near the Redondo Pier and Mother’s Beach in Marina del Rey were among those getting better marks. Mother’s Beach, which was rated most improved, has been closed in the past because of pollution.

Except for the beach near Redondo Pier, all of the South Bay beaches scored an “A.”

“When people are saying, ‘The bay is polluted, I’ll never swim there,’ there is no scientific data that would warrant that response,” said Roger Gorke, science and policy analyst for Heal the Bay. He noted that the report card gave “Ds” and “Fs” to only about half a dozen of more than 50 beaches.

The beach at the Los Angeles County Patrol Dock in Marina del Rey was rated as the “class troublemaker,” the most contaminated spot in the bay. However, it is not used by many people for swimming.

Beaches scoring “D” for the summer months were the beach just south of the Bel-Air Bay Club, the area near the Malibu Pier, the area south of the Santa Monica Pier and the beach near the Santa Monica Canyon storm drain at Will Rogers State Beach. However, the beach around the Santa Monica Canyon storm drain showed signs of improvement, Gorke said.

Bacteria counts for the beach just south of the Ashland storm drain in Santa Monica near the Venice border worsened in September. The problem has been so bad that officials diverted the storm water into the sewer system.

Surfrider Beach near the Malibu Lagoon--one of the most popular surfing spots in Southern California--received a “C” for the summer and a “D” for September.

“Heal the Bay continues to see many people, especially young children, swimming in the flow existing from the lagoon and in the lagoon itself,” Gorke said, expressing alarm.

He offered this advice: “Wherever you see a flowing storm drain or pier, stay 100 yards away.

“And when it is raining, don’t go swimming for at least three days.”

Beach pollution in the county is largely the result of urban runoff--an accumulation of domestic and commercial waste dumped or inadvertently washed into storm drains and swept into the bay.

To compile its report card, Heal the Bay uses data collected daily at some beaches and weekly at others by the Los Angeles City Bureau of Sanitation and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.