San Diego Beaches Test Poorly After Wet Weather
Ed Joyce
KPBS
05/26/2010
An environmental group released its grades for the quality of water at beaches in California. San Diego County beaches scored top marks during dry weather, but during wet weather the levels of harmful bacteria increased at county beaches.
Ocean Beach at the San Diego River outlet, Dog Beach, scored an 'F' during wet weather in Heal the Bay's 2009-10 Beach Report Card.
Kirsten James is with Heal the Bay, which assigns A-F letter grades for beaches based on water quality.
"Wet weather continues to be a problem in San Diego and throughout the state and we're seeing about 41 percent receiving C, D and F grades," said James.
The grades are based on the levels of harmful bacteria found in the water. The better the grade a beach receives, the lower the risk of illness to ocean users.
The group also compiles a list of the top 10 worst beaches. One San Diego County beach ranked number nine on the list: Vacation Isle North Cove Beach in Mission Bay.
James says North Cove Beach made the "beach bummer" list because of poor circulation at the enclosed beach.
San Diego Coastkeeper and WiLDCOAST representatives said the lack of funding for beach water-quality monitoring and the lack of consistent testing puts public health at risk.
