MALIBU—Heal the Bay released its annual Beach Report Card which included grades for four Malibu beaches that were put on Honor Roll. According to the city of Malibu website, El Matador State Beach, Escondido State Beach, Dan Blocker County Beach and Las Tunas County Beach were all on the list. A total of 37 beaches in the state received a perfect score.

“The City of Malibu has 21 miles of scenic California coastline, and we do everything possible to keep our world-famous beaches clean, healthy and safe for our community and visitors to enjoy,” said Mayor Rick Mullen. “From our water quality monitoring and stormwater treatment programs to our bans on single-use straws, utensils, bags, and polystyrene foam, we are proud to be strong guardians of our marine environment.”

Heal The Bay uses a grading scale of A-F. The higher the grade, the better the quality of the beach water. The grading was done over three periods of weather conditions. Summer dry weather, winter dry weather and year-round wet weather conditions.

Routine Water quality samplings conducted by health agencies, sanitation departments and dischargers. The water samples are tested by three fecal indicator bacteria. They indicate pollution from human and animal waste.

In order to obtain Honor Roll, beaches must receive A’s on all three periods of testing and must be monitored each week. Impacting overall quality of beach water is rainfall. Heavy rain makes for more street and road pollutant to be flushed into the ocean.

The Santa Monica Pier was put on the Beach Bummer list for the fifth consecutive year. In the past five years, they have received D’s and F’s. This year the Santa Monica Pier ranked number 7, while Poche Beach at ocean outlet came in first place.  Heal The Bay UCLA and the city of Santa Monica conducted a two-year study in 2012 on the Santa Monica Pier. They found that the conditions under the pier, such as moisture and the absence of sunlight, in addition to bird-specific bacteria were contributors to the Pier’s poor water quality.

The Los Angeles County’s water quality has improved over the past five years. Ninety-six percent of the beaches in the region received an A or B grade during the summer dry weather period.

To review the Heal The Bay’s Beach Report Card click here.

Written By Joanna Rosales and Donald Roberts