Water Quality at Will Rogers State Beach Improves

Sections of Will Rogers State Beach aced the End of Summer Beach Report Card released by Heal the Bay this week. The report stated, "Clearly, the City and County of Los Angeles’ dry weather runoff diversions at Will Rogers Beaches and other locations are doing a good job."

The nonprofit's report tracks bacterial pollution from Memorial Day through Labor Day. During that time frame, Heal the Bay monitors and rates 447 beaches in California. Heal the Bay's , released in May, indicated the overall water quality at Los Angeles County beaches worsened in 2010-11.

The biggest improvement in Los Angeles happened in Long Beach, where all the sites monitored this summer got A or B grades—a first since 1990. Last year, that was only the case with 73 percent of beaches in that area.

"We continue to see water quality improvements at California beaches,” Heal the Bay President said in a statement. “A sustainable source of beach monitoring funding is critical to ensure that we continue to capitalize on these gains and safeguard the public health of millions of ocean users statewide.”

For other beaches near Pacific Palisades, the news wasn't so good. Santa Monica Bay beaches including Malibu Pier, Surfrider Beach and Topanga State Beach were among the ones that earned F grades.

Ninety-four percent of Orange County beaches earned an A grade, which was slightly worse than last summer, while all 73 beaches monitored in San Diego earned an A or B grade. All 40 Ventura beaches got an A.

The news wasn't so good at San Pedro's Cabrillo Beach, which continued its eight-year streak of earning F grades, despite the city of Los Angeles pouring $15 million into improvement projects. Water quality was better in Santa Barbara County, where 87 percent of beaches received A or B grades. 

While the water quality improved in Southern California this summer, there wasn't a similar uptick statewide. Like last year, 92 percent of California beaches received A or B grades. Nine earned Cs, nine received Ds and 19 got Fs.

The grades Will Rogers State Beach received from Heal the Bay were as follows: 

Will Rogers State Beach, 17200 PCH

• Summer 2011: A+
• Summer 2010: A

Will Rogers State Beach at Bel Air Bay Club

• Summer 2011: A
• Summer 2010: D

Will Rogers State Beach at Pulga Canyon storm drain

• Summer 2011: A
• Summer 2010: A

Will Rogers State Beach at Santa Ynez drain

• Summer 2011: A
• No data for Summer 2010
• Summer 2009: F

Will Rogers State Beach at Temescal Canyon drain

• Summer 2011: A+
• Summer 2010: F

Will Rogers State Beach at Santa Monica Canyon drain (Chautauqua Boulevard)

• Summer 2011: A
• Summer 2010: A

According to the summer report card, the water at Will Rogers State Beach exceeded legal bacteria levels a few times between April 1 and Sept. 5:

Heal the Bay bases its report on weekly water quality monitoring data that is provided by dischargers and health agencies. The methodology behind the Beach Report Card—which the nonprofit calls "a comprehensive examination of coastal water in California, Oregon and Washington—can be found here.

Also, Heal the Bay has announced a soon-to-be-released, free Beach Report Card app through which a comprehensive, weekly analysis of coastline water quality can be accessed. Go here for more information about the app.

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