> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # State beach kicks up water quality - URL: https://www.smdp.com/state-beach-kicks-up-water-quality/ - Published: 2006-10-25T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T21:46:33.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Environment, Pier, #archive-import, Homeless *Will Rogers beach clean-up belies SoCal’s water woes* *By JESSICA ROBERTS Special to the Daily Press* SM PIER — While Los Angeles County beaches still have the dirtiest water in the state, the area surrounding Will Rogers State Beach was found to have improved dramatically in one year’s time, according to a local environmental watchdog. The findings issued Tuesday were part of Heal the Bay’s 2006 California state beach report cards, which again saw the county earning the lowest marks in the state for water quality. As for Santa Monica Bay, its waters ranged from a notably improved A at Will Rogers to a another F by the pier. The feel-good story was Will Rogers State Beach, which recorded As at all five sampling locations, including an A+. Just last year, the same beach received two Fs. Mark Gold, executive director of Heal the Bay, attributed the improvement at Will Rogers Beach to multiple runoff diversion projects completed and upgraded by Memorial Day this year. “These are all new projects that worked right off the bat,” Gold said. Funded by California Clean Beach Initiatives passed between 2000 and 2003, the systems pump runoff away from the beach and into the sewer system. The result is that Will Rogers beach is now compliant with water quality standards — standards several beaches, including Santa Monica Pier, failed to meet. As part of the routine monitoring of beaches by local health agencies, water samples are analyzed for bacteria that indicate pollution from numerous sources, including fecal waste. The better the grade a beach receives, the lower the risk of illness to ocean-goers, according to Heal the Bay. The statewide study used data from 450 monitoring locations, stretching from Humboldt County in the north to San Diego County in the south. Almost half the beaches in Los Angeles County — 44 of 97 — received grades of C, D or F, based on data collected from Memorial Day weekend until the end of September. Those numbers show a decrease in water quality from the same time last year, when 20 of 82 (or about 24 percent of beaches) received a grade of C or lower. And they look even worse when compared to the rest of the state, where less than 10 percent of beaches received grades of C, D or F this year. Continuing the downward spiral of water quality in the county, for the second straight year, a record number of Fs — 29 in 2006 — were issued for beaches in LA County, as well as the lowest number of As — 46\. Last year, 11 Fs and 47 As were issued. Beaches in the northern Santa Monica Bay, such as Topanga State Beach and Castle Rock Beach, received some of the worst grades, while most other beaches around Santa Monica and Venice Beach received As. Several Malibu beaches received low grades, as did Manhattan Beach, which slipped to a D. For the second consecutive year, the Santa Monica Pier area received an F, leading Heal the Bay to conduct a study on behalf of the city to identify the source of its abundant bacteria. “We were frustrated that this is our hometown and we have one of the most polluted beaches in the state right in our bay,” Gold said. Over a five-week period in July and August, Heal the Bay tested samples from various points around the pier and found that the point directly under the elevated wooden structure was the most contaminated. Further investigation found a pond under the pier — directly beneath the roller coaster — that did not flow directly to the beach, but may have reached the water during high tide or under other conditions that would raise the water level. “One day the pond was behind the fence, but another day the water level had risen about one foot,” said Mike Grimmer, who collected samples for the study. “I sampled the water from the pond and it was just off the charts.” Gold said the bacteria count per 100 ml was “literally in the 100,000s” for a single sample, compared to a maximum count of 3,000 for samples from the ocean water beneath the pier. A follow-up study by Jenny Jay at the UCLA Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering demonstrated that the pond is a major source of fecal bacteria to the ocean under the pier. Heal the Bay initially thought birds were responsible for the pollution in the pond, but concluded that a broken storm drain was the source of much of the pollution. “You could see a hole in there you could walk through,” Gold said. Observations at the beach recorded during the study showed that the number of pigeons under the pier and the number of homeless people living there were not significant, and were not a major source of water pollution. Heal the Bay offered several recommendations to the city in efforts to improve water quality around the pier, including eliminating leaks from the pier infrastructure, installing a flap gate at the end of the stormdrain, and disciplining pier tenants deemed responsible for the tainted runoff. “Cleaning up our beaches is no longer just a moral obligation, it’s a law,” Gold said. State regulations approved on Sept. 14 will hold cities accountable for pollution at their beaches, meaning the city of Santa Monica could be fined $10,000 per day for beaches that fail to meet state standards. Thus far, cities have yet to face penalties for failing to make the grade. “The city’s going to have to pay for this one way or another,” Gold said. “Either pass Measure V or funds will come out of the general funds.” Ballot initiatives Measure V and Proposition 84, both supported by Heal the Bay, would raise funds to clean up coastal waters in the same manner past bond measures were used to improve water quality at Will Rogers State Beach. Proposition 84 would raise state bond money, a big part of which would be available to communities based on competitive applications. Cities would have to match funds from the state in order to win them, which has been a problem in Santa Monica, according to Craig Perkins, director of Environmental and Public Works. “We have had grant sources in the past that we have not been able to go after because we haven’t been able to raise local funds,” Perkins said. Measure V is a partial tax that supporters say would cost homeowners an additional $7 per month and renters $2 per month in Santa Monica. Opponents, however, dispute the actual costs residents might eventually face. Based on Perkins’ calculations, if Measure V passes, up to $30 million would become available over the next 10 years for locally based projects. Perkins said Proposition 84 would allow the city to get as much as $20 million of additional outside money. “The more local money you have, the more grant money you can get,” Perkins said. In the end, Heal the Bay’s beach report cards show that Los Angeles County has its work cut out for it in the face of potential fines for subpar water quality. Los Angeles was the only county in the state with more than three beaches that received Fs.It received 54 percent good grades (A or B), while Orange and Ventura counties both had at least 92 percent good grades. Some of the worst beaches in Los Angeles County are in Long Beach, where only three of the 25 monitoring locations received A or B grades. Last year, 21 of 23 locations received As or Bs during the same period. Avalon beaches also had poor water quality, as none of the five sampling locations received grades above C. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/102506-01_01.jpg) to Daily Press STAGNANT: Michael Grimmer, of Heal the Bay, examines a tainted pond that has formed under the Santa Monica Pier. (Photo: José Bacallao/Special) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 25, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102506.pdf?ref=smdp.com)