Storm Runoff Closes 10 County Beaches
Signs warning off beach-goers have been posted at 10 Ventura County beaches, victims of storm-water runoff related to a downpour earlier this week, county health officials said.
In addition, the county Environmental Health Division has issued an advisory urging beach-goers to avoid bodily contact with storm-water runoff and the ocean at all Ventura County beaches through Thursday.
The first rain of the season occurred early Monday morning, dousing the county with about an inch. Rains typically wash summer accumulations of waste, road grime and chemicals off city streets and crops into storm drains, causing levels of disease-causing bacteria to soar at beaches at the end of the pipeline.
Portions of the following beaches are posted with no-swim warnings: McGrath State Beach; Mandalay County Park; Oxnard Shores; Oxnard State Beach; Oxnard Hollywood beach; Ormond beach; County Line beach; Hobie beach; Channel Islands Harbor Beach Park; and Staircase beach. Tests showed excessive levels of microbial pollution at those beaches.
For information about beach pollution, call the health department hotline at 662-6555 or consult its Web site at https://www.ventura.org/env_hlth/env.htm.
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