Santa Monica Beaches Get Good Marks, But Not Year Round

By Lookout Staff

September 27, 2012 -- Heal the Bay released its annual Beach Report Card ratings and Santa Monica Beaches received As all around, but only in the summertime.

All but one of the six locations along Santa Monica's coast received at least an A in the Santa Monica-based nonprofit's report, as long as the weather is sunny.

The Wilshire Boulevard drain was the only place to receive a B during the summer months.

“The grades represent the risk of adverse health effects to beachgoers. The better the grade a beach receives, the lower the risk of illness,” the report says of it's 20-year-old grading system.

In that case, Santa Monica's beaches, which draw tourists from around the world, are great places for summertime beachgoers.

However, the organization's report wasn't as cheery in the winter months.

Only four of the six locations -- Montana drain, Wilshire drain, Strand Street and Ocean Park Beach at Ashland Avenue -- received As or higher during dry winters.

During a dry winter, the Santa Monica Pier and the Pico Kenter Storm drain receive Ds, according to Heal the Bay's report.

When it rains, the organization said, none of the locations receive a grade higher than C, with all but Strand Street and Ocean Park Beach receiving Fs.

However, Heal the Bay said that the water quality in Santa Monica has, for the last six years, gotten better, following a larger trend in the county.

“Los Angeles County beach water quality continued to improve, this year by 2%, with 77 sites earning A and B grades,” Heal the Bay officials said.

One of the biggest improvements in Santa Monica has been around the Pier, which, in 2011, jumped off the organization’s “Beach Bummer list” and earned an A rating.

The improvement of water quality is in part due to efforts by Heal the Bay, which organizes regular beach clean-ups throughout the state.

Heal the Bay credits Measure V, which local voters passed in 2006, with the improvement of water quality around the Pier.

The measure funded the Pier Storm Drain Improvement project, completed in 2009. The measure also included the construction of a pump to divert dry weather runoff to the Santa Monica Urban Runoff Reuse Facility (SMRF) for treatment.