Top 3 Least and Most Polluted Beaches in Los Angeles County

LA County beachesNoah Boyer / Unsplash

Want to know which Los Angeles beaches are safe for swimming?

Ask any surfer what they hate about the ocean, and ‘gross pollution’ will be near the top of their list. Surfing is synonymous with the beach, and to have that spoiled is just horrible. But not just for surfers. It’s tough to book the perfect beach day with your family when you can never be sure just how clean and safe that beach is.

We know pollution isn’t great for our kids and families, but we don’t always know which beaches are polluted. Heal the Bay publishes their report every summer telling us which L.A. beaches are polluted.

About the beach report card for Los Angeles County

A+ Redondo Beach LA Countyon my blue jeans/ Unsplash

The Heal the Bay Beach Report Card is a snapshot of the water quality at LA County beaches. It's just as relevant today as when we first put it in place 30 years ago.

Heal the Bay is a non-profit environmental organization that collects water samples from beaches along the California coast and assigns letter grades.

Here's what you need to know:

• A to F are the grades given to the beaches
• A+ is the highest, and F is the lowest grade
• The higher the grade, the lower the chance of getting sick from the water at that spot.
• The majority of the beaches on the list are in Southern California, with some in Los Angeles County.
• 42 of California's more than 500 controlled beaches were named to Heal the Bay's coveted Honor Roll

Palos Verdes Los Angeles CountyKaity O'Keefe / Unsplash

The good news? Fewer contaminants, such as bacteria, were washed into the ocean in 2020, although cumulative rainfall in Southern California Counties totaled 57 centimeters (4%) above the historical average of 55 centimeters.

Increased rainfall typically translates to lower grades for wet weather samples; however, since many of the heavy storms this year occurred in late March, only a few water quality samples were affected.

So, according to the Beach Report Card, which three beaches are the cleanest in LA County - and which beach got an A+ on their report card?

The three A+ clean beaches in Los Angeles County

The cleanest beach in Los Angeles CountyJeffrey Keenan / Unsplash

Let's start with the good news.

The three most pristine beaches with the least pollution for LA County:

1. Palos Verdes Cove
2. Palos Verdes Long Point, and
3. Redondo State Beach at Topaz Street

Palos Verdes beaches have become Honor Roll mainstays in recent years, while other Los Angeles County beaches have struggled to make the cut.

The 42 of over 500 tracked beaches were on the Honor Roll in the latest 2019-2020 report, which is an improvement compared with 33 in the previous year. SoCal beaches typically dominate the Honor Roll because they can show continuous monitoring.

Heal the Bay has monitored local beaches throughout Southern California for three decades using rigorous and in-depth scientific analysis to create its coveted Honor Roll.

The 3 Most Polluted Beaches in LA County

The sad truth is that Los Angeles County reported 68 sewage spills across the County, which sent 148,276 gallons of sewage into bodies of water.

However, the most polluted beach in LA County is Topanga Beach, with a triple F rating.

Topanga BeachAndrew Ball / Unsplash

Topanga is the sole beach on Heal the Bay's "Beach Bummer" list from Los Angeles County in 2020. Heal the Bay comments on the finding:

Topanga Beach has appeared on the Beach Bummer list regularly since the list started. A study published in 2014 found that Topanga Lagoon is likely the source of bacteria pollution at the beach. The lagoon receives high amounts of bird and dog fecal matter so when the lagoon is breached, the fecal matter flows into the ocean resulting in high bacteria concentrations. Ecological restoration of the lagoon is underway which could help mitigate the poor water quality.

Another dishonorable mention in 2019-2020 is Cabrillo Beach Harborside with three Fs; and Marina del Rey Mothers’ Beach, between Lifeguard Tower and Boat dock, with C F F., They have shown no increase or decrease in grades over time. Let's hope they can show some improvement in the following report.

18365 Cabrillo Hwy S, LA CountyEthan Dow / Unsplash

Final thoughts on the LA County beach report card

Around here, the beaches are our playgrounds. As children, we swam in them — learn to surf in them as teens and young adults — we take our date there on a first date. The list goes on. But most of us probably don’t know how polluted our environmental playgrounds are. The data from Heal the Bay shows just how dirty and contaminated.

Heal the Bay has been monitoring local beaches throughout the US and Southern California for three decades using rigorous and in-depth scientific analysis to create its coveted Honor Roll. For beachgoers who care about clean water, this is what they want to see – clean water across Los Angeles County.

Have you been to any of these beaches? What do you think about the pollution in your area? We'd love to hear your feedback and experiences in the comments section below.

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