Dana Point’s Pride Is at an Ebb

Gene Eudaly was one of the regulars at Doheny State Beach in the mid-1960s, back when one perfect wave seemed to follow another.

At the time, Dana Point was known nearly exclusively for its rolling surf, glassy waters and undisturbed coastline. The surf break was known as “Killer Dana,” a two-mile long ride that became the stuff of legend among surfers.

But the surf was altered -- and Killer Dana all but eliminated -- when rock jetties were thrust into the ocean to provide a buffer for the county’s new marina.

At the same time, the growing problem of urban runoff worsened because the jetties had reshaped the area’s wave pattern. In its natural state, the strong surf would have swept the pollution out to sea.

Now, after back-to-back-to-back distinctions as the state’s most polluted beach, the small coastal city has a reputation it just can’t seem to shake.

Environmentalists point to the seashore as a graphic example of a beach that’s been compromised by development and tainted by pollutants carried to the beach along now-urbanized creeks.

For three consecutive years, Doheny, a state beach that runs from the Dana Point Harbor entrance to Capistrano Beach has topped Heal the Bay’s list of California’s most polluted beaches.

The group’s grades are based on water quality tests conducted by county sanitation and health agencies. If sewage or warm-blooded animal waste is in the water, bacteria counts will be high. Surfers, swimmers and divers have a risk of getting sick in ocean water that tests high. Symptoms usually mimic the flu.

“An F means, you know what, you might want to go to an A beach,” said Mark Gold, Heal the Bay’s executive director.

The constant F and D ratings from the Santa Monica-based clean water group and the yellow warning signs posted by the county when the ocean is contaminated have become a source of local frustration.

There’s no indication that the bad grades have affected tourism, one of the city’s financial engines. On any given summer day, the beaches are packed, the campgrounds at Doheny are full and hundreds of boats bob in the harbor. And hard-core surfers paddle out to the popular Boneyard break despite county health warnings.

Still, Doheny’s decline has dealt a heavy blow to the town’s self-esteem.

“It just really puts a stake in the heart when our beaches are closed or when there’s a yellow sign out,” said Ron Franz, who first surfed Doheny in 1965.

City Councilman Wayne Rayfield agrees. “It does hurt. We don’t want to leave a legacy of dirty beaches and an unhealthy ocean.”

Other Southern California beaches in the worst 10 include Baby Beach in Dana Point Harbor, Surfrider Beach in Malibu, Avalon Beach on Catalina Island, Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro and Pacific Beach Point in San Diego County.

Environmentalists say Dana Point’s pollution has been tough to tackle because Doheny suffers a double punch -- harbor pollution from the marina on one side and urban runoff and droppings from thousands of birds in San Juan Creek on the other.

The creek cuts into Doheny 300 yards from its northern end, carrying runoff from 134 square miles of inland Orange County. In summer, the runoff is diverted to sewage treatment plants. But in winter, the volume of water rushing down the creek is simply too great to divert.

A stagnant pool of polluted runoff, known by locals as “Polio Pond,” used to sit at the north end until a $1.25-million diversion completed last November rerouted the North Creek’s summer storm drain flows to a sanitation plant.

While most state beaches receive good grades in dry weather, water samples taken within 2,000 yards of the San Juan Creek in summer months last year earned a C, Ds and Fs. Wet weather samples earned the entire beach an F.

Experts say the water tests poorly in both seasons because the rock jetties -- the same ones that put an end to Killer Dana -- keep pollution from being swept away.

“When you disrupt an area where you had strong waves and a lot of mixing at San Juan Creek, that near-shore pollution just hovers there,” Gold said.

The city of Dana Point has undertaken several projects to improve water quality at Doheny.

In all, the city has spent about $14 million over the last five years trying to clean and filter urban runoff before it reaches the beach, officials said. But while street sweeping and going after trash in storm drains seems a logical way to address pollution, environmentalists say, beneath the surface the water is teeming with bacteria that can make swimmers sick.