Local Beaches Make the Grade

Palos Verdes beaches earned high marks this summer, most receiving A+ grades for strong water quality, while other nearby beaches were also given good grades, according to a report released Tuesday.

The news was noted in environmental group Heal the Bay's End of Summer Beach Report Card, which tracks bacterial pollution from Memorial Day through Labor Day. During that time, Heal the Bay monitors and rates 447 beaches in California. Heal the Bay's previous Beach Report Card, released in May, indicated the overall water quality at Los Angeles County beaches worsened in 2010-11.

California earned high water quality grades statewide, with 92 percent of sites receiving A or B grades during the high-use beach season, according to the report.

Compared to last summer, Los Angeles County water quality grades improved from 79 percent to 85 percent of beaches receiving A and B grades.

All locations monitored by Heal the Bay in Palos Verdes received an A+, according to the most recent 30-day results.

The beaches include: Portuguese Bend Cove, (monitored at 6000 Palos Verdes Drive South), Long Point (monitored at 7200 Palos Verdes Drive South), Palos Verdes Bluff Cove (monitored at 600 Paseo Del Mar), Malaga Cove (weekly, monitored at 300 Paseo Del Mar), and Malaga Cove (daily).

This summer, 89 percent of Santa Monica Bay beaches earned A or B grades, compared with 87 percent last year.

The biggest improvement in Los Angeles was in Long Beach, where all the sites monitored this summer got A or B grades—a first since 1990. Last year, that was only the case with 73 percent of beaches in that area.

However, San Pedro's Cabrillo Beach continued its eight-year streak of earning F grades, despite the city of Los Angeles pouring $15 million into improvement projects. Water quality was better in Santa Barbara County, where 87 percent of beaches received A or B grades.

"We continue to see water quality improvements at California beaches," Heal the Bay President Mark Gold said in a statement. "A sustainable source of beach monitoring funding is critical to ensure that we continue to capitalize on these gains and safeguard the public health of millions of ocean users statewide."

Heal the Bay bases its report on weekly water quality monitoring data that is provided by dischargers and health agencies. The organization explains the methodology behind the Beach Report Card—which the nonprofit calls "a comprehensive examination of coastal water in California, Oregon and Washington"—on its website.