Studies warn to check beach health before swimming
Dave Bond from the LA County Department of Public Health tests the water quality in early June. Photo Two non-profit organizations, Heal the Bay and the Natural Resources Defense Council, (NRDC), recently released reports on the health of L.A County beaches. The NRDC gave Redondo beaches a low grade, while Heal the Bay announced a rise in water quality and average ratings for South Bay beaches. According to NRDC, California was ranked 21 in beach water quality out of 30 states. The study indicated that nine percent of the beaches compared poorly exceeded national EPA standards. According to NRDC, this means that 1 in 28 swimmers could potentially become ill from contaminations in the water or on the beach. “Because polluted runoff is the biggest known source of pollution that causes swimming advisories or beach closings, EPA needs to reform the national requirements that govern sources of polluted storm water…” said the NRDC release. Of Heal the Bay’s 441 beaches monitored, 407 beaches received a grade of A or B from their A-F system used to measure contaminations. That is a two percent leap from the 2010 monitoring year. Seven of the 10 beaches that made the “California Beach…
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