Response to Recent Post about Heal the Bay's Beach Report Card

This is in response to the post titled “Heal the Bay Annual Beach Report Card Isn’t The Whole Picture,” which appeared on the Patch’s Community Corner on October 9, 2021.

Heal the Bay is happy to see community members engaged in water quality discussions and asking critical questions. The author of this post is correct – the Beach Report Card does not tell the whole story when it comes to water quality. However, the Beach Report Card was never intended to, and for the last three decades, Heal the Bay has been working to keep our waters clear of all pollution.

The Beach Report Card is an important and comprehensive public health tool, providing weekly and annual water quality grades based on bacterial pollution at over 700 beaches from Washington to Tijuana. We provide this information to the public through a website and app – all free of charge. Further, the Beach Report Card has been used for advocacy by Heal the Bay to protect and improve water quality and has spurred municipalities and agencies to take action, resulting in numerous success stories.

Why does the Beach Report Card only include bacteria in water quality grades?
The USEPA sets different standards for water quality depending on how the water is used. Drinking water is allowed to have only miniscule amounts of a variety of contaminants in it (e.g. metals, bacteria, chemicals). Your local swimming hole or beach, on the other hand, only has to meet bacteria standards to be deemed safe for water contact, and the limits are not as low as they are for drinking water. Drinking water standards are stricter because consuming contaminants (ingestion) is more harmful than swimming in them (contact).

The bacteria measured for the Beach Report Card indicate the presence of fecal matter, which contains many harmful pathogens. There have been many scientific and epidemiologic studies linking high levels of fecal indicator bacteria to illnesses. Sewage poses an acute health risk, meaning one exposure can make someone sick. Other contaminants like pharmaceuticals pose a chronic health risk meaning illness only sets in if someone suffers prolonged exposure. Your average beachgoer does not get enough exposure to contaminants that pose a chronic health risk. Therefore, only bacteria standards are used for recreational water quality.

Some beachgoers are privileged enough to have frequent access to the beach (surfers for example). These folks are definitely in the water more than a weekend beach visitor, so they can potentially have higher rates of exposure to harmful pollution.

For all beach users, we recommend using the Beach Report Card to understand your risk of getting sick. If you avoid the water at beaches with a poor water quality grade based on fecal matter levels, you’re also likely avoiding other pollutants in addition to that bacteria. This is because most pollutants enter the ocean through the same routes: storm drains, rivers, and streams. Pollution flows off our streets and into these waterways, which subsequently discharge the contaminants into the ocean. We advise people to avoid contact with ocean water around storm drains and river outlets, and avoid all ocean contact for at least three days following a significant rain event.

Why don’t we close the beaches?
Heal the Bay does not have the authority to close beaches. Every beach in the state is managed by a government agency at the national, state, county, or local level depending on the beach. Heal the Bay does not believe in keeping people away from the beach or the water, but we want people to make informed decisions on where or when to get in. If a beach has a poor grade (C,D,F) we advise people to swim somewhere else or take precautionary measures like showering as soon as they get home and avoiding ingestion.

Where does our data come from?
Heal the Bay does not collect water quality samples for ocean beaches. The Beach Report Card covers over 700 beaches across the West Coast, and it would not be possible for us to collect that data. Our grades reflect the data we gather from public health agencies, and our role is to turn this information into a format people can easily understand.

What about other pollutants? Who wants to swim in those?
No one wants to swim in pollution! That’s why our water quality work goes far beyond the Beach Report Card. Stay up-to-date on our work by checking out our blog and signing up for our newsletter.

Thanks again to Patch Community Contributor Roger E. Bütow for initiating this dialogue.

Luke Ginger is the Water Quality Scientist at Heal the Bay.