Beach report card gives some pause
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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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