When Beaches Are Sickening

The environmental group Heal the Bay has been performing a valuable service in Orange County this year by converting pollution data into a system that people can understand. It has been giving weekly reports on beach water conditions.

The return of warm weather sent thousands to local beaches in recent days in time to enjoy the benefits of a few days off over the long holiday weekend. While cooler temperatures have given many pause for beach-going this season, the quality of local water is always a concern.

The group recently has given good grades for low levels of pollution to beaches in San Clemente, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and parts of Huntington Beach. This is a representative sample of water along a large part of Orange County’s coastline.

The lack of rain has been a particular benefit, because the beaches often do much better in dry weather, without runoff from rivers and storm drains. Runoff from the San Gabriel River, for example, has affected the quality of water off Seal Beach severely. As is often the case, the water at Doheny State Beach and other places where creek mouths and storm drains enter the ocean have been problems areas.

In past years, surfers and experienced swimmers have been aware of the pollution at places where inland water discharges into the ocean. Officials long have advised residents not to swim at beaches with storm drains, channels and creeks, and this is so even in dry weather.

Heal the Bay has been converting county health figures for coliform and other bacteria into letter grades from A to F. This gives the public a translation for data on coliform and fecal counts. It alerts beach-goers to what they are dealing with by going in the water.

The group says it will have the weekly tests available year-round on its Web site (https://www.healthebay.org/baymap), which is a nice public service. Getting the results in comprehensible terms gives swimmers at all levels of expertise the basis for an informed decision on whether to take the plunge.