If you're heading into the ocean at 26th St. in Hermosa Beach, you're keeping good company of late.
According to Heal the Bay's latest beach report card, the water quality at that location during the dry season from April to October of last year was good enough to earn an A+ rating, which it also earned for wet weather months, making it one of only 7 Los Angeles County beaches to earn the Honor Roll distinction by receiving an A+ grade every week for every time period in the year.
Heal The Bay officials made the announcement near the Hermosa Beach Pier Thursday morning in what has become an annual tradition of releasing the latest report before the Memorial Day weekend.
The other monitoring site in Hermosa Beach, 50 yards south of the pier, earned an A in dry weather months, a B in wet weather, both beaches making improvements from previous years.
Last year, 26th St. had a dry-weather grade of A and earned a B in wet weather. The year before that, its wet-weather grade was D.
Heal The Bay, whose reports are based on water sampling for fecal bacteria pollution, assigning collection sites a grade based on an A-F scale. The higher the grade, the lower the risk of water-goers getting sick by contracting stomach flu, skin rashes and ear and upper respiratory infections.
Ocean water quality in Manhattan Beach at the pier and 40th St. received year-round A grades. The water at 28th St. received an F grade during wet weather and an A during dry months.
In Redondo Beach, the Herondo St. storm drain area took home an A in dry weather and an F in wet months. The south side of its pier got a C in dry and F in wet weather while heading south the water scored better with Topaz St. garnering a C in dry and B in wet weather and Ave. I an A year-round.
Ocean water quality in Southern California is affected by pollution flushed out of storm drains during wet weather.
To see the grades for all 445 California beaches, click here.
A Beach Report Card app to check out the weekly analysis of coastline water quality for the West Coast is now available from Heal The Bay.
Have you ever gotten sick from being in ocean water? Tell us about your experience in the comments.
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