El Nino Leaves Toxic Legacy in Bay

Water quality in north Santa Monica Bay figures to be especially bad through July and, once again, you can thank El Nino, the environmental group Heal the Bay said Thursday.

The El Nino-fueled storms that heightened sewage runoff created the worst winter and spring beach water conditions in the eight years that the group has been surveying beaches.

Contaminated ground water from the Santa Monica Mountains is expected to pollute the bay well into the summer, affecting some of the county’s most popular beaches, including Will Rogers, Sunset and Surfrider, the group said in its annual report.

“El Nino may be gone, but it surely won’t be forgotten,” said Mark Gold, executive director of the group.

South Bay beaches should not be as affected by polluted runoff because they have smaller watersheds, he added.

During the 1997-98 winter season, rainstorms more than doubled the average precipitation in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, flushing urban runoff into the ocean and causing 120 million gallons of raw sewage to spew into the ocean in what was the worst spill year in more than a decade, Gold said.

As a result, authorities were forced to close beaches on 50 days, more days than in the three previous years combined, the report found.

The group’s report, which spans May 1997 to April 1998, is based on bacteria count statistics provided by the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Health and Sanitation districts. Heal the Bay analyzes the data and assigns water quality grades to local beaches that range from A to F, depending on pollution levels.

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During wet weather, which the group defines as the day it rains and three days after, when storm drains are still flowing, a total of 56 of 61 beaches from Leo Carrillo Beach north of Malibu to Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro received grades of C to F, the report said.

“Basically, the entire bay flunked,” said Gold, who holds a doctorate in environmental sciences from UCLA.

Storm drain runoff containing toxic substances, including pesticides, animal waste and motor oil, is the largest source of pollution to the bay, he said.

High levels of fecal bacteria can cause stomach upsets, respiratory infections and skin rashes. Heal the Bay recommends that people stay out of the ocean for three days after it rains because it takes roughly 72 hours for sunlight and saline to kill the contaminants.

Moreover, the group advises people to avoid swimming within 100 yards of flowing storm drains even in dry weather.

Only five locations--Hyperion Treatment Plant, Hermosa City Beach at 26th Street, Bluff Cove, Portuguese Bend and Cabrillo Beach--received water quality marks during wet weather of very good to excellent in this year’s report.

On dry days, the county’s beaches fared a bit better.

But despite a record number of 220 dry days last summer, the overall water quality during weather was only average, the report said.

Only 35 of 61 beaches received an A grade, primarily because residual pollutants caused by El Nino storms affected water quality even on dry days in 1998.

No beach was singled out for the best water quality, but beaches from Leo Carrillo to Malibu Point, and the entire South Bay--excluding Redondo Beach Pier--all had days during which the quality was excellent.

To decrease contamination, Heal the Bay recommended specific measures in its report, including the certification of septic systems in Malibu and the posting of signs at Santa Monica Pier to prevent waste dumping.

Last year, the group successfully lobbied to create a system of statewide bathing standards that would require weekly testing in the summer and public notification of contaminated water. In Los Angeles County, such warnings have been posted at storm drains since 1995.

Starting in June, the group will publish weekly water quality reports on its World Wide Web site, at www.healthebay.org

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Bay Watch

Heal the Bay’s report card on area beaches from last May to this April shows that heavy runoff of sewage created the worst wet-weather beach pollution in the eight-year history of the report. Sample results averaged from testing in both dry and wet weather are shown.

Water testing sites:

1. Leo Carrillo Beach: A+* and F**

2. Latigo Creek Entrance: B* and F**

3. Malibu Point: A* and C**

4. Surfrider Beach: D* and F**

5. Malibu Pier: C* and F**

6. Topanga Beach: C* and F**

7. Will Rogers Beach: A+* and F**

8. Santa Monica Canyon: D* and D**

9. Santa Monica Pier, 50 yards south: F* and F**

10. Pico/Kenter storm drain: D* and F**

11. Ashland storm drain: C* and F**

12. Venice Pier: A+* and C**

13. Mother’s Beach: C* and F**

14. Manhattan Pier: A+* and C**

15. Hermosa Pier: A* and C**

16. Redondo Pier, 50 yards south: C* and F**

*Dry-weather grade

**Wet-weather grade