Heal the Bay: Long Beach water quality improves dramatically
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The waters off Long Beach -- long among the most contaminated in the state -- have improved dramatically in the last year, according to a new report that gives the city’s beaches their highest water-quality ratings in a decade.
All the beaches in the city earned grades of A or B in the environmental group Heal the Bay’s End of Summer Beach Report Card.
Statewide, 92% of California beaches earned A or B grades this year, the same as last year, according to the report.
But the picture was not rosy at some Southern California beaches.
Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro earned an F for the eighth consecutive summer despite millions of dollars spent on municipal projects to improve water quality.
Also flunking were a number of popular beaches in Malibu, including Surfrider Beach, Malibu Pier, Solstice Canyon at Dan Blocker County Beach, Carbon Beach at Sweetwater Canyon and Topanga State Beach.
The annual report by Heal the Bay evaluated hundreds of beaches in California, Oregon and Washington from Memorial Day to Labor Day, giving them grades based on tests for bacterial pollution, which indicate how likely the water is to make swimmers sick.
-- Tony Barboza
