Local beaches get failing grades

5/26/00

By MELINDA BURNS 
NEWS-PRESS SENIOR WRITER

mburns@newspress.com

Most Santa Barbara County beaches get an "F" for water quality after heavy rains, and four local beaches get failing grades even in dry weather, in the annual Beach Report Card from Heal the Bay, a Santa Monica-based environmentalist group.

The report card was released just as many people plan to hit area beaches for the three-day Memorial Day weekend.

Only the Guadalupe Dunes, south of the Santa Maria River, gets an "A" in both wet and dry conditions. The next highest scorer is Sands, a popular surfing beach at Coal Oil Point, with an "A" in dry conditions and a "B" after storms. Other beaches with an "A" in dry conditions are Gaviota State Beach, El Capitan State Beach, Butterfly Beach, Carpinteria City Beach, Carpinteria State Beach and Rincon Beach.

The report card was based on the bacterial data from weekly ocean water samples taken between April 1999 and March 2000 by county Environmental Health officials. The data provide the bacterial counts for fecal bacteria, total bacteria and enterococcus bacteria -- indicators of water contamination from the intestinal tracts of humans and other animals.

In assigning the grades for each beach, Heal the Bay took into account the numbers of bacteria, the ratio of total bacteria to fecal bacteria, and the bacterial standards set by the state for safe swimming.

The report card assigns a "D" or "F" even in dry weather to Jalama Beach, Arroyo Quemada Beach, Arroyo Burro Beach and East Beach at Mission Creek. Arroyo Burro and Mission creeks are two of the most polluted streams in the county, passing through the heart of Santa Barbara. At Jalama, a creek runs through a cattle ranch to the ocean; and near Arroyo Quemada, a creek runs through a landfill to the beach. Septic tanks are located near the beach at both Jalama and Arroyo Quemada.

Jalama, Arroyo Quemada and East Beach at Mission Creek were listed by Heal the Bay as placing among the top 10 finalists in Southern California for the dubious "Beach Bummer" award for the most polluted beach in dry weather.

The "Beach Bummer" crown went to Channel Islands Harbor Beach Park in Ventura County.

Just last week, East Beach was named by the Surfrider Foundation as one of the nation's top urban beaches. The international nonprofit grouped ranked East Beach No. 4, noting the beach's Mediterranean climate, warm water, good swimming and ample volleyball space.