A new health report card for California beaches was released this week by Heal the Bay, the non-profit watchdog for beach safety and health in our state. Their beach report card “includes an analysis of shoreline (ankle-deep) water quality data collected by more than 20 different county and city public agencies for fecal indicator bacteria. The amount of indicator bacteria present in runoff, and consequently in the surfzone, is currently the best indication of whether or not a beach is safe for recreational contact.”
The good news is that San Francisco beaches scored very well, with our own China Beach and Ocean Beach scoring A’s. See the chart below for our local rankings. Crissy Field’s western beach made the honor roll, earning an A+ score. Only 46% of Bay Area beaches are monitored on a regular basis, so it’s nice to see that in this annual report, we still score well.
You can read Heal The Bay’s full Beach Report Card report here (PDF).
On a related note, next Monday (~6:15am) and Tuesday (~7:23am) morning are the lowest annual tides for Ocean Beach. You’ll be amazed how far out the water is.
So get out and enjoy our local beaches on this holiday weekend!
Sarah B.