Beach Closures
Three Ventura County beaches are posted with “no swimming” signs this week due to excessive bacteria in the water.
Silver Strand Beach south of the jetty at the end of San Nicholas Avenue and Hobie Beach and Channel Islands Harbor Beach Park in Oxnard are closed because water-quality tests failed to meet minimum state health standards.
Pollution has been a problem at the Hobie and Channel Islands beaches since last year. Officials at the county’s Environmental Health Division are continuing to try to identify and eliminate the sources of the bacteria contamination.
Channel Islands Harbor Beach Park, also known as Kiddie Beach, was named the most polluted beach in Southern California in Heal the Bay’s 10th annual report card.
Swimmers should keep at least 50 yards from each side of the closure signs to avoid bacteria, health division officials say.
Weekly beach testing occurs at 53 sites in Ventura County, and results can be obtained by calling the county’s ocean water-quality hot line at 662-6555 or visiting the division’s Web site at https://www.ventura.org/env_hlth/ocean.htm.
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