Beaches in Newport, Laguna make group’s ‘honor roll’ for water quality

Most of California’s coastline gets a thumbs-up for water quality, and the same goes for Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, according to environmental group Heal the Bay, which on Wednesday released its 2014-15 Beach Report Card.

In Newport Beach, the Wedge, a popular surf spot at the end of the Balboa Peninsula, is on the report card’s “honor roll,” which includes locations that have received “A” grades year-round, no matter the weather condition.

In Laguna, the beaches at Treasure Island and the Laguna Lido Apartments on South Coast Highway made the honor roll.

Laguna Lido and the Wedge were on the list last year as well.

“The water quality in those areas [is] excellent,” said Leslie Griffin, a data analyst for Heal the Bay.

The news wasn’t as good in Huntington Beach, where, for the first time, Heal the Bay ranked one of its beaches among the 10 most polluted in California.

The Santa Monica-based organization, which has been rating water quality at Western beaches for 25 years, ranked a stretch of Huntington State Beach near Brookhurst Street as No. 10 on its list of “beach bummers,” the only Orange County beach on that list.

The Beach Report Card gives grades of “A” through “F” based largely on routine monitoring of water quality by local health agencies at 468 beaches on the West Coast. Water samples are analyzed for bacteria that indicate pollution from various sources, including fecal waste. The better the grade, the lower the risk of illness to ocean users, according to the group.

The report looks at how water quality at the beaches fares during what it considers summer (April to October), winter (November to March) and during wet weather throughout the year.

“It’s important for people to know the grades each beach receives,” Griffin said. “Lower grades can indicate bacteria which can make you sick.”

In Newport, 39 beaches were rated. Most received A’s and Bs, but along Newport Bay, many received Fs for year-round wet weather.

“The quality doesn’t necessarily stay the same during the wet weather,” Griffin said. “There’s urban runoff that can occur when it rains.”

In Laguna, 17 beaches were graded, and all but one received A’s through Cs.

“Laguna Beach’s water quality is excellent during dry weather,” Griffin said. “It’s also pretty good in wet weather, unless you’re near a storm drain.”

According to the report, California’s drought appears to be contributing to generally strong beach water quality statewide.

“With record low rainfall reducing the amount of polluted runoff funneled into our seas, beach grades across the state are consistently outperforming their five-year average,” the report states.

To see the full report card, visit healthebay.org.

Staff writer Anthony Clark Carpio contributed to this report.