2 Malibu Beaches Make Honor Roll List On Annual Beach Report Card

MALIBU, CA — Two Malibu beaches made the honor roll on Heal the Bay’s Annual Beach Report Card & River Report Card, a high rating shared by only 51 California beaches that reflects good water quality.

Beaches around the state had excellent water quality last summer, according to an environmental group's annual honor roll of coastline quality grades.

In Malibu, Las Tunas Beach and Nicholas Beach landed on Heal the Bay's honor roll, indicating top-rate water quality grades recorded year-round. Las Tunas and Nicholas Beach both received an A+ rating for the seasonal categories of summer dry, winter dry and wet weather.

California had a total of 51 beaches on the honor roll. Orange County led the pack with 19 beaches making the cut, up from 10 last year. Los Angeles County had six beaches on the list, down from seven last year.

Beaches across Southern California received higher grades in dry weather and performed worse in wet whether. 67 percent of Southern California beaches received A and B grades when it rained, which was above the region's average. Some 95 percent of Southern California beaches received A and B grades for the dry period, and 89 percent in the dry winter period.

Grades were determined based on water quality sampling from multiple agencies that gauged bacteria levels in the water, according to Heal the Bay.

On the report’s “beach bummers” list, were the ten poorest grades given during the summer months. In the Golden State, Marlin Park in San Mateo County; Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles County; Marina del Rey in Los Angeles County; Moonstone County Park in Humboldt County and Mother’s Beach in Los Angeles County all garnered poor marks.

Polluted ocean water can pose major health risks to swimmers and surfers, according to Heal the Bay. Those who enter waters that received a C grade or lower in the report are at risk of illnesses including stomach flu, ear infections, upper respiratory infections and rashes.

Some 94 percent of California beaches tested for water quality received A or B grades during the summer of 2021, which the environmental group called roughly on par with the five-year average, according to Heal the Bay. But only 66% of California beaches had good or excellent grades during wet weather, which is slightly above the annual average, but "still very concerning," according to Heal the Bay.

"It is wonderful news that most beaches in California have good water quality for swimming," Tracy Quinn, president/CEO of Heal the Bay said in a statement.

"But there are areas with poor water quality that need improvement and infrastructure upgrades. We can't forget that our marine ecosystems are still threatened by the climate crisis and other pollution sources, and we need solutions to address these pressing issues as well. We expect people to increasingly seek out ocean shorelines and freshwater swimming holes to cool off as temperatures rise, so safe, clean and healthy water is needed now more than ever."

Read the full report here.