State Makes List of Top Urban Beaches

California has three of the best urban beaches in the United States, according to a new report by the Surfrider Foundation, despite water quality woes.

Newport Beach in Orange County, East Beach in Santa Barbara and Main Beach in Santa Cruz rank among the country’s top 10 urban beaches--spots where there is a “peaceful coexistence” between healthy shorelines and urban development, according to the advocacy group’s first State of the Beach Report.

Other top spots in the country include South Beach in Florida, Cape May in New Jersey and Waikiki Beach in Hawaii.

Although environmentalists might not think of Waikiki or Newport Beach as pristine, the study concluded that these beaches have relatively healthy seawater and clean beaches, despite explosive development and heavy use.

“They’ve done a good job keeping their beaches nourished and well-maintained,” said Christopher J. Evans, executive director of the San Clemente-based Surfrider Foundation, an environmental advocacy group. The study’s purpose, he said, is “to recognize beaches that try, and at least are doing some things right.”

South Beach, Fla., topped the list, Santa Barbara placed fourth, Newport Beach fifth, and Santa Cruz ninth. California, where nearly three-quarters of the population lives in coastal counties, had more beaches on the list than any other state.

Public access and facilities at state beaches ranked extremely well. Activists credit the landmark 1972 Coastal Act and the California Coastal Commission.

“It was groundbreaking, leading-edge legislation,” Evans said.

Local Surfrider chapters surveyed 16 coastal states on six factors that are key to healthy beaches: access, water quality, shoreline structures, erosion, sand replenishment and surfing areas.

Among the states, North Carolina ranked the best. States that ranked the worst were Maine, Virginia and Washington.

In California, areas of concern include water quality and beach erosion. In 1998, the state had 3,273 beach closure days, which are counted as the numbers of days an individual beach is closed. In 1991, the number was 745. The study points out that stricter monitoring and El Nino rains helped push up the number of days beaches were closed in 1998.

California received high marks for providing information to the public about beach access, water quality and surfing areas.

The Surfrider study, funded by a $100,000 grant from the Mazda North American Operations, is expected to be the first in a series of annual reports on the status of the nation’s coast.

Bob Caustin of Defend the Bay questioned the inclusion of Newport Beach as among the country’s best urban beaches because of pollution in Newport Bay.

He called the western part of the city abysmal because of runoff from the Santa Ana River. “We’ve got a ways to go to make it what it should be,” Caustin said.

Evan said, “We’re not saying these beaches don’t have problems. They have challenges and we’re working on it.”