Malibu beaches manage to miss the Honor Roll and Beach Bummer list
Santa Monica Pier and Mother’s Beach were included on the list of most polluted water in California, as determined on the annual Beach Report Card released by the environmental nonprofit Heal the Bay. Luckily, Malibu’s beaches managed to miss the Bummer List as well as the Honor Roll.
On Wednesday, July 17, Heal the Bay, the West Coast’s most comprehensive water quality data analysis released its annual Beach Report Card. Now on its 34th year, the group has also documented the rivers in LA County for six years.
None of Malibu’s beaches made the Honor Roll nor the Bummer List in this year’s report. The report found that beaches in the South Bay Area scored higher grades in summer.
The good news is that nearly 90 percent of monitored California beaches received A or B water-quality grades for the dry-weather summer months. That figure is close to the state’s 10-year summer average, but does mark a 6 percent drop from our last Report Card.
“Eighty-nine percent of California beaches were safe to swim at during summer 2023, but we are still seeing water quality impacts from record-breaking storms, urban runoff, and sewage spills,” Heal the Bay’s CEO and president Tracy Quinn said. “California’s 20th century water infrastructure was not designed to address the challenges faced by climate change in the 21st century. We need to upgrade outdated sewage treatment facilities and prioritize public investment in nature-based, multi-benefit stormwater capture infrastructure.”
Over 30 years ago, Heal the Bay introduced the Beach Report Card as a pivotal public health tool designed to safeguard beachgoers. This comprehensive tool evaluates water quality by analyzing bacteria pollution at over approximately 700 beaches stretching from Tijuana up through Washington.
Southern California beaches (Santa Barbara to San Diego counties) got 90 percent A or B grades in the summer. Northern California beaches (Del Norte to Marin counties) also earned 90 percent A or B summer grades, while Central California beaches (San Francisco to San Luis Obispo counties) notched 84 percent A or B marks.
The organization assigns annual A-to-F grades to approximately 700 beaches along the Pacific Coast based on levels of bacterial pollution, from Washington state to Baja. The lower the grade, the greater the chance of ocean-users getting sick.
“The Beach Report Card is accessible to the public through both a website and a mobile app, entirely free of charge, underscoring our commitment to public health and environmental stewardship,” their report says. “These efforts aim to enhance water quality and have motivated municipalities and agencies to implement measures that have led to numerous environmental success stories across the coast.”
Heal the Bay also encourages beachgoers to look for updated water quality grades for their local beaches at beachreportcard.org and freshwater recreation areas at healthebay.org/riverreportcard.
Quinn recommends waiting at least three days of rain before swimming; don’t swim within 100 yards of a storm drain, and “Know before you go,” being informed by the Heal the Bay Report Card before visiting any beaches.
“Just in the last two years things have been relatively consistent,” Quinn said.