How Clean is my Favorite Beach?
First, review some key details of California law
- The state measures water quality at its own beaches
- A beach is closed if 104 enterococcus bacteria are found in 100 ml of water
- Closure standards are roughly equivalent to one chance in 100 of getting sick
- Coastline is 1000 miles long, and OCSD spent $5 million studying just 40 miles of it
- Heal the Bay uses these standards to make a weekly
Beach Cleanliness Report Card
Now, if you live in any coastal state, you have two options:
- Earth911's
Beach Water Quality Report has extensive, up-to-date information. However
each state's water cleanliness is reported according to that state's laws.
Different states have different standards and sampling schedules.
- Surfrider's annual
State of the Beach Report includes beach erosion and other factors
as well as bacterial contamination.
Beach water cleanliness standards vary widely from state to state.