(May 28, 2005) -- Heal The Bay has released its annual "Beach Report Card," rating water quality at CA beaches from April 2004 through March 2005.
LB beaches scored generally above average...with some drawing very high marks. "[I]n Long Beach, from Prospect Avenue to 72nd Place, the poor water quality from 2003- 2004 has rebounded and scored some of the best grades in the county this year," Heal the Bay's website (www.healthebay.org) said.
In dry weather, LB's downtown area beaches generally received B's...with the projection at 10th Place scoring A's. Grades tended upward south of Belmont Pier with numerous A's and B's...and even an A+ for Alamitos Bay at 56th Place in one time period.
Colorado Lagoon, a sore point in prior years, scored A's in dry weather for its center and south...and C's in the north.
Sadly, LB's "Mother's Beach" was rated a County "beach bummer" with a C and D in dry weather.
All LB beaches (and most L.A. County beaches) got F's in wet weather.
Heal the Bay says on its website, "Runoff from creeks, rivers or storm drains is the largest source of pollution to California beaches. Runoff may contain toxic heavy metals, pesticides, petroleum hydrocarbons, animal waste, trash and even human sewage. The Beach Report Card includes an analysis of shoreline (ankle-deep) water quality data collected by various county and city public agencies for fecal indicator bacteria. At present, the report card contains no information on toxins or trash in the water."
The group adds, "The Beach Report Card is an indication of past water quality and is not a warranty of the current safety of those areas surveyed."
For a complete list of the "Heal the Bay's" grades for L.A. County beaches, click here. (Beaches are listed north to south, so use the scroll bar on their website site to reach LB beaches near the end of the list.)