Ventura County Urged to Check for Beach Pollution Hazards

Under mounting pressure to test and report dirty ocean water, local health officials are recommending that Ventura County begin a program to warn swimmers of pollution hazards at the beach.

The issue is of paramount concern to surfers, boogie boarders and other beachgoers, as well as businesses dependent on miles of inviting shoreline to attract tourists.

More recently, the county’s top medical official urged stringent measures, and a recent state law mandates that all California coastal counties take more aggressive action to protect swimmers and bathers.

If the county Board of Supervisors approves the plan Tuesday, it will mark the first time the county has taken action to afford year-round protection to the public against disease-causing agents sometimes found swirling in the surf.

Ventura County is the only coastal community in Southern California that does not routinely check for harmful microbes along its coast.

“The evidence is more credible for an association between the levels of bacteria and an increase in human disease and illness,” county Health Officer Robert M. Levin said. “I think it’s important to bring it to the attention of the supervisors.”

To counter the threat, the board is scheduled to consider a recommendation from the county Environmental Health Division to begin routine testing, public notification and posting of beaches when pollution exceeds state health standards.

The program would start Oct. 1, be fully functional by November and continue until July, said Robert Gallagher, the county’s technical services manager for environmental health.

As many as 20 county beaches are candidates for weekly bacteriological tests, including Silver Strand, Hueneme and Rincon, Gallagher said.

A 1997 state law requires weekly tests for three types of bacteria at beaches that attract more than 50,000 annual visitors and are affected by storm drains. Sampling must occur between the peak-use months of April and October.

To take effect, the proposal requires support from four of the five supervisors.

Historically, Ventura County health officials have been reluctant to conduct routine ocean water quality sampling. The county tests coastal waters after episodic sewage spills or accidents, but not throughout the year.

“We didn’t feel it was necessary because exposures [to contaminants] needed to be limited only during sewage spills,” Gallagher said.

Cost is also a concern. The program will cost $207,000 between October and June 1999, and $300,000 to run year-round, Gallagher said.

California is providing $74,000 to Ventura County for the first year, but funding for subsequent years is uncertain. And the law allows the county to forego the program if state funds are not forthcoming.

Those concerns influenced the Board of Supervisors earlier this year, when it decided to postpone action on the matter until Oct. 6, when the board is expected to know much money the state would provide.

Ocean water quality, however, took on a new urgency recently when Levin became health officer and, citing data from recent test results from Santa Barbara County and Santa Monica Bay, warned that ocean pollution very likely poses an unacceptable health risk.

Levin joins a growing chorus urging government action to clean up beaches. The California Department of Health Services is in the midst of writing new, more stringent standards on ocean pollution.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the nation’s largest environmental advocacy groups, issued a July report documenting thousands of beach closures annually.

“We’re very concerned about beach closures and we are working with local and state governments to get people armed with data so they can decide for themselves whether it’s safe to use,” said Paula Bruin, spokeswoman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Bruce MacDonald, past chairman of the Ventura County chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, said the county needs to launch a program to test ocean waters and alert people of unsafe conditions. The local foundation chapter has 1,300 members and works to improve ocean water quality.

“Santa Barbara County is doing it. San Diego County is doing it. Los Angeles County is doing it. Orange County is doing it. Almost every single coastal county is doing it except Ventura County,” MacDonald said. “A lot of people get sick when they go in the ocean. Are we going to wait until some kid dies because of dirty ocean water?”

Lots of sources contribute to ocean pollution, including sewage, chemicals from agriculture waste water and petroleum-laced runoff from streets and parking lots. The pollutants can create algae blooms that harm wildlife and unleash harmful microbes capable of causing human illnesses ranging from a stuffy nose to chronic diarrhea to hepatitis.

The supervisors’ meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the County Government Center, 800 S. Victoria Ave. in Ventura.