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Beach report card gives some pause

Orange County healthy agency officials tell us throughout the winter

to stay high and dry for about 72 hours after a storm. They couldn’t

be more right, according to Santa Monica-based Heal the Bay.

The environmental group released grades last week for all of

Southern California’s beaches. For the most part, Newport Beach fared

well -- so long as the weather’s dry. During and after rainfall, most

beaches everywhere failed.

The lone exception in Newport Beach seems a bit ironic: Muddy

Creek Beach received an A+ during the wet season. It appears its name

is deceiving. Perhaps Clear Creek Beach would be more appropriate.

But aside from that anomaly, high and dry seems like good advice.

The majority of the city’s beaches received Fs during the rainy

season. Those beaches rising a tad above the failing grade were

Corona del Mar, Crystal Cove at Los Trancos Canyon, and 38th Street

in the harbor.

There were few surprises in the report, but among them was data

that revealed that the water off the Santa Ana River mouth is safe

during the dry season. Other trouble spots during drier weather are

38th and 43rd streets in the harbor. That’s understandable given the

more stagnate water within the harbor.

Heal the Bay’s figures have made it obvious that people should

flock to most of Newport’s beaches during the dry months, including

the warmer months that began this month.

But Newport Beach officials must continue to work on preventing

runoff -- whether from inland cities or Newport itself -- from

entering the ocean. Progress has been made, but the data from the wet

months really shows that runoff continues to be a problem.

Only Muddy Creek seems to defy the odds. It’s hard to believe the

A+ grade for that beach considering that the creek runs right into

it. The results seems a bit muddied.

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