Funding cuts hurt Calif. beach water quality tests
Associated Press
ABC7
05/26/2010
LOS ANGELES -- Most Californians enjoyed good water quality at the beach this year, but state funding cuts may mean they won't know for sure next year if the water is safe, according to an annual study released Wednesday.
Mark Gold, executive director of Heal the Bay, a nonprofit group that has overseen the annual "Beach Report Card" for two decades, said the money for water testing will run out at the end of year.
The testing requires as much as $1.5 million annually to complete.
"What these cuts will basically be saying is, if it's the winter or spring, you're swimming at your own risk," Gold said.
In 2008 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut $1 million in funding to monitor ocean water. The state water board provided some funding, and many coastal counties relied on local general funds or volunteers for reduced testing, the report said.
This year, an estimated 46 beaches were not monitored. Next year, the drop in funding will likely mean another steep decrease in the frequency of monitoring during winter and spring -- seasons that can bring heavy pollution because of runoff during rainstorms.
Santa Monica-based Heal the Bay studied bacteria found in water samples taken by local agencies from Humboldt County in Northern California to the Mexico border. The group assigned a grade to 326 beaches along the state's coastline based on testing done from April 2008 to March 2009.
Most bacterial contamination occurs during winter, when heavy rains overload storm drains and sewage systems, washing waste into the sea. Swimming in such pollution can cause gastrointestinal, respiratory and other illnesses.
Overall, 90 percent of California's beaches showed good-to-excellent water quality in the survey. Twenty beaches, however, failed to meet pollution standards.
In Los Angeles County, the number of beaches that showed good water quality increased from last year. Even so, half of the state's worst offenders were still in the county, including Malibu, Santa Monica, Avalon and Long Beach.
