Beach Closures

Thirteen Ventura County beaches are posted with “no swimming” signs this week due to excessive bacteria in the water.

The water quality failed to meet minimum health standards at two Rincon Beach sites from the creek mouth to 150 yards south; Solimar Beach; Emma Wood State Beach 50 yards south of the first drain; San Buenaventura Beach at the end of Kalorama Street and at the end of Dover Lane; Peninsula Beach near the south jetty; Oxnard Shores at the end of Amalfi Way; Oxnard State Beach at the end of Falkirk Avenue; Hobie Beach; Channel Islands Beach Park; Silver Strand Beach; and Ormond Beach south of the J Street drain.

The results are typical after the first rain of the season, which occurred Sunday, said Richard Hauge, coordinator for the county’s ocean water monitoring program.

“Everything on the lawns and in the gutters and on the streets ends up in the ocean with the runoff,” he said.

Swimmers should keep at least 50 yards from each side of the closure signs to avoid bacteria, health division officials say.

Pollution has been a problem at Hobie and Channel Islands beaches since last year. Officials at the county’s Environmental Health Division are still trying to identify the sources of the bacteria contamination.

Weekly beach testing occurs at 53 sites in Ventura County, and results can be obtained by calling the county’s ocean water hot line at 662-6555 or by visiting the division’s Web site at https://www.ventura.org/env_hlth/ocean.htm.