5 SMC Beaches Land On Annual 'Beach Bummer' List; 1 Makes Honor Roll

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — Heal the Bay released its annual report card this month for hundreds of California beaches and rivers, and the results were a mixed bag for San Mateo County. Five local beaches made up half of the "Beach Bummer List," ranking among the most polluted based on levels of harmful bacteria, but one was among just two in the Golden State state to make the "Honor Roll" this year.

The organization has assigned letter grades to hundreds of beaches across the West Coast for more than three decades, based on levels of fecal bacterial pollution. This year, about 95 percent of California beaches earned an A or B grade, but there were a few areas of concern.

"Last year an astounding 45 million gallons of sewage were spilled and made their way to California beaches," Heal the Bay wrote. "Only 56% of California beaches had good or excellent grades during wet weather, which was worse than average, and very concerning."

The wet weather had a notable influence on water quality readings, shrinking the "Honor Roll" from 51 beaches last year to only two this year.

"As climate change continues to bring weather whiplash, our water woes will swing from scarcity to pollution," said Tracy Quinn, Heal the Bay's CEO. "This year, record precipitation produced major impacts on water quality across Coastal California. Now more than ever, we must prioritize multi-benefit projects to manage stormwater as both a water quality and supply solution, all while ensuring that the public is kept informed of risks to public health."

In ranking the most polluted beaches in California, beaches in San Mateo, Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange counties made the "Bummer List," along with one in the Tijuana area.

As The Mercury News reports, this marks the fifth year in a row that multiple San Mateo County beaches have earned the unwanted distinction.

Related: Bacteria Abounds At Popular Peninsula Beach

Here is the 2022-2023 Beach Bummer List:

• 1-2. Playa Blanca, Tijuana Area
• 1-2. Santa Monica Pier, LA County
• 3. Linda Mar Beach, San Mateo County
• 4. Marlin Park, San Mateo County
• 5. Erckenbrack Park, San Mateo County
• 6. Tijuana River Mouth, San Diego County
• 7. Pillar Point Harbor, San Mateo County
• 8. Marina del Rey Mother’s Beach, LA County
• 9. Poche Beach, Orange County
• 10. Gull Park, San Mateo County

Only two of the hundreds of monitored beaches received top marks on the "Honor Roll" — a distinction that is normally dominated by Southern California beaches. This year, the honors went to Bean Hollow State Beach in San Mateo County, and Point Loma Lighthouse in San Diego.

Heal the Bay explains why this year was a little different than most:

"In order to get on the Honor Roll, a beach must have zero bacterial exceedances all year under all conditions, which is extremely difficult to do with so much rainfall. The unsettlingly short Honor Roll was also impacted by our inability to grade one third of San Diego County’s beaches, which usually comprise a large portion of the Honor Roll (15 in the last report). in 2022 San Diego agencies began using a new testing method for bacterial pollution at nearly a third of beaches in the County, which is unfortunately not yet compatible with our grading methods in the Beach Report Card."

>> Read more about this year's Beach Report Card via Heal the Bay.