Beaches Pass Test, but Will Be Monitored

Ventura County’s first routine sampling of ocean water in more than 20 years has not turned up any significant levels of harmful bacteria, health officials said. But the county will continue to test its beaches weekly.

Beginning this week, the county Environmental Health Division will collect samples from 52 beach locations, covering all 42 miles of the county’s coastline. The agency expects to collect more than 2,700 samples annually.

The program will test for three types of bacteria that indicate the presence of more harmful organisms that could cause flu-like symptoms, rashes, hepatitis and other illnesses in humans. The samples will be tested each week and at beaches that do not meet state standards for water quality, signs will be posted, in English and in Spanish, warning the public to avoid the contaminated water.

The information will also be available via the health division’s Web site,https://www.ventura.org/env_hlth/env.htm and a telephone hotline, 662-6555.

According to results gathered this week, all of Ventura County’s beaches comply with state standards. Since October, when the program was still being developed, only two samples--both taken from Channel Islands Beach Park--have exceeded the state’s standards. Subsequent samples indicate the beach conforms with minimum standards.

Other coastal counties have been testing their ocean water for several years, but until a 1997 state law, Ventura County was not among them. The monitoring program will cost $207,000 to operate and involves one full-time coordinator and two part-time testers, Gallagher said.