So Cal beaches may pose risk to swimmers, surfers

With millions of people flocking to Southern California beaches to cool off during the recent record heat wave, Los Angeles-based environmental organization Heal the Bay has released a list of the beaches that violated federal standards recently and potentially pose a health risk to swimmers during upcoming visits.

Will Rogers, Cabrillo and Topanga are among the popular beaches that showed high levels of fecal bacteria in the water, two weeks after the July 15 deadline to enforce clean water standards at area beaches.

A UCLA study released earlier this summer showed that the healthcare costs of beachgoers getting ill from contaminated beach water conservatively ranges from $21 million to $51 million annually. It estimated that up to 1.5 million swimmers and surfers get gastrointestinal illnesses (stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting) from bacterial pollution at beaches on 100 miles of shoreline in L.A. and Orange counties.

"This continues the trend of about 10 beaches that exceed the new beach bacteria standards in violation of the Clean Water Act," said Mark Gold, executive director of Heal the Bay. "While this is a relatively small number, we urge the coastal cities responsible and L.A. County to protect public health by immediately posting warning signs at the beaches, to come forward with plans to clean up these beaches and do everything possible to comply with the law as soon as possible."

Beach water at 65 locations in Los Angeles County is monitored by the L.A. County Department of Health Services Environmental Monitoring Division and the L.A. County Sanitation District.

The following beaches were found to be in violation of the Clean Water Act:

Dockweiler State Beach at Imperial Highway; Will Rogers State Beach at Santa Monica Canyon (Chautauqua Boulevard); Topanga State Beach at Topanga Creek; Redondo Beach Pier; Santa Monica Pier; Dockweiler State Beach at Ballona Creek; Cabrillo Beach, harborside in front of restrooms; Marie Canyon at Puerco Beach in Malibu; Castlerock storm drain near Topanga Canyon and Las Tunas County Beach at Tuna Canyon.

Heal the Bay recommends beachgoers check the Beach Report Card at www.healthebay.org before heading into the surf.