> ## 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 report card to be issued - URL: https://www.smdp.com/state-beach-report-card-to-be-issued/ - Published: 2004-05-24T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T04:22:51.000Z - Author: Carolyn Sackariason - Tags: Environment, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Santa Monica will find out if it made the grade* PULLQUOTE: “Surfrider was just brutal. It was ranked as third worst in the state.” Mark Gold, executive director of Heal the Bay By Carolyn Sackariason Daily Press Staff Writer Californians will find out this week just how polluted their beaches and swimming spots really are. Heal the Bay’s 14th Annual Beach Report Card will be released on Wednesday and although environmentalists say many areas of Santa Monica have seen remarkable improvements, there are others that have gone from bad to worse. One of them is the Pico storm drain, which is directly south of the Santa Monica Pier and is a popular place for swimmers and surfers, despite its high level of bacteria. “Pico has been having some problems,” said Mark Gold, executive director of Heal the Bay, a local nonprofit organization committed to improving water quality in the Santa Monica Bay. “There’s been too much ponding and the overflow pipe was busted.” Last week, Gold met with city officials, as well as water quality representatives from the county and state, to discuss how to improve the storm drain. 3DD,“They are nagging, ongoing issues,” said Craig Perkins, director of City Hall’s environmental and public works management. Perkins described Pico’s main problem as a timing issue — the county fills up the drain during the wet months, which forms a lake of stagnant, dirty water. But workers don’t always time the diversion correctly and when it rains, the flow goes directly into the ocean. High tide also washes over the depression in the sand, carrying the water directly into the ocean. That’s why “no swimming” signs are usually posted on the beach near the storm drain. “If there is a way to prevent that ponding, those signs wouldn’t have to go up,” Perkins said. Part of the problem is the elevation in the sand at Pico lends itself to ponding easily. Perkins said they’ll work on timing the diversion better and improve the system so the debris trapped in the filter will be pumped directly into the city’s recycling treatment facility underneath the pier a few hundred feet away. Pico also has had problems with sand and debris clogging the pump, and recently the 24-inch pipe broke. County workers are currently fixing it, Perkins added. If Pico’s system could be improved like it was at Santa Monica Canyon — just south of Will Rogers State Beach — it would be safe to swim and surf nearly all of the time, officials say. Gold said Santa Monica Canyon’s runoff system is a success story and will be highlighted in this year’s report — it went from a D grade to a B in one year. Operated by the city of Los Angeles, the Santa Monica Canyon system is able to divert virtually all of the dry weather flow away from the ocean. “Our overall goal is to have zero dry weather flow into the bay, which is basically May to October,” Perkins said. Millions of dollars of improvements are being made to storm drains off of Wilshire Boulevard, as well as Montana and Ashland avenues. The projects should be complete in the next 18 months. 3BE,“Once those projects are complete, I think we will meet that goal,” Perkins said. “There should be no contamination in those areas.” In Malibu at the popular Surfrider Beach, contamination is the norm. Last year, it made the “California Beach Bummer” list for the fourth consecutive year. And this year will be no exception. “Surfrider was just brutal,” Gold said. “It was ranked as third worst in the state.” But Gold said some significant strides are being made to improve water quality there. “The momentum up there has gone through the roof,” he said. “This summer, the game is going to completely change.” Last year, Surfrider received an A grade during the summer months, a first in Beach Report Card history. The renowned beach had excellent water quality from April to October, thanks in part to the drought and the successful prohibition of discharge from the Tapia Sewage Treatment Plant, which limited the frequency of breaches at Malibu Lagoon. Although many environmentalists agree that Santa Monica continues to lead the way in improving water quality along its shores, much more needs to be done. “You may have the best of intentions, but so many things are a challenge,” Gold said. Heal the Bay’s Annual Report Cards provide a 12-month summary of the dry and wet weather water quality for all monitored beaches in California. The grades are calculated from data collected from April 1 through March 31 of the following year. The Beach Report Card is based on the routine monitoring of beaches conducted by local health agencies and dischargers. Water samples are analyzed for bacteria that indicate pollution from numerous sources, including fecal waste. The higher the grade a beach receives, the lower the risk of illness to ocean users. However, the report is not designed to measure the amount of trash or toxins found at beaches. Last year’s report card graded more than 300 year-round locations and 400 locations in dry weather from April to October on an A-F scale, which is based on the risk of adverse health effects to swimmers and surfers. The program covers the entire state of California, stretching to the Mexican border. The program has evolved from an annual review of beaches in Santa Monica Bay to weekly updates of all monitored beaches throughout California. All of the information is available in print and at www.healthebay.org. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/052404-01_01.jpg) (Photo: Carolyn Sackariason/Daily Press) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 24, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/052404.pdf?ref=smdp.com)