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# More than 33 percent of SM Bay beaches have violated federal clean water act
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/more-than-33-percent-of-sm-bay-beaches-have-violated-federal-clean-water-act/
- Published: 2006-09-09T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T21:23:24.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Environment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Clean water is the goal*

*By Daily Press staff*

With tens of thousands of people expected to hit Southern California beaches this weekend, some popular stretches of coast-line continue to break a law that went into effect July 15 by not meeting federal clean water standards, according to weekly statistics compiled by Los Angeles-based environmental organization Heal the Bay.

That means beach-goers face a potential health risk from exposure to ocean water contaminated by fecal bacteria.

With the new addition this week of Herondo Street on the border of Hermosa and Redondo Beach, 23 of the 65 beaches tested in Santa Monica Bay have violated the Clean Water Act since the July 15 deadline to enforce clean water standards at area beaches. A total of seven beaches exceeded the standards in the past week.

“With over a third of the beaches tested in Santa Monica Bay now having exceeded the new beach bacteria standards in violation of the Clean Water Act, the numbers clearly demonstrate the Bay has a widespread problem,” says Mark Gold, executive director of Heal the Bay. “We urge the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board to protect the health of millions of beachgoers by putting teeth in the beach water quality standards.”

The board takes up the enforcement issue at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 14 at the Metropolitan Water District in downtown Los Angeles. Gov. Schwarzenegger has written a letter of support encouraging the regional board to make the limits easily enforceable.

In July, the RWQCB decided to postpone a vote to make the beach water quality standards more easily enforceable, rescheduling it for a vote at the Sept. 14 meeting. However, the board has begun sending letters to LA County and various cities violating pollution standards asking them to identify the source of the pollution and provide other information within two weeks. Failure to comply could result in a $1,000 per day fine.

The new standards, called Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) require beach waters to be free from unhealthy levels of fecal bacteria. They would apply to all Santa Monica Bay beaches from the Ventura County line south to Palos Verdes during dry weather between April and October.

In 1999, Heal the Bay, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Santa Monica Baykeeper went to court to fight for — and won — water quality pollution limits for in Los Angeles and Ventura County. The beach bacteria limits for Santa Monica Bay were established in 2003.

Even with three years of lead time to the TMDL’s July 15 compliance deadline, many of Santa Monica Bay’s beaches still have elevated bacteria levels. In order to be easily enforceable, the bacteria pollution limits need to be incorporated into the LA County Storm Water permit by the RWQCB, environmentalists said.

The beaches that have had the most number of violations are: Marie Canyon at Puerco Beach in Malibu Castlerock storm drain in Pacific Palisades Redondo Beach Pier, 100 yards south of the pier Santa Monica Pier, south side of the pier Dockweiler State Beach at Ballona Creek mouth Topanga State Beach at Topanga Creek mouth Surfrider Beach at the breach point of Malibu Lagoon People who swim in contaminated water are far more likely to develop ear infections, sinus ailments, upper respiratory problems or stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. The resulting health care costs were estimated to be $21--$51 million annually in Southern California, according to a recent UCLA study.

Beach water at 65 locations in Los Angeles County is monitored by the LA County Department of Health Services, the City of LA’s Environmental Monitoring Division and the LA County Sanitation District. Heal the Bay recommends beachgo-ers check the Beach Report Card at www.healthebay.org before heading into the surf at their favorite beaches.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 9, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/090906.pdf?ref=smdp.com)