These are Los Angeles County's dirtiest beaches according to Heal the Bay's 2016 report card

The ongoing debilitating drought boosted water quality at Los Angeles County beaches, though they continued to have the highest number of polluted surf zones in the state, according to Heal the Bay’s aual statewide review of coastal bacteria levels.

The nonprofit environmental organization released Thursday its Beach Report Card, analyzing weekly testing by local agencies and dischargers statewide from April 2015 to March 2016. Beaches were then graded, with the cleanest waters receiving an A+ and the worst getting F scores.

As usual, three of the state’s 10 worst scores were in Los Angeles County: the beach 100 yards south of the Redondo Beach Pier, Mother’s Beach in Marina del Rey, and areas around the Santa Monica Pier. The three locations aren’t new to the list of “beach bummers” in the report, having repeatedly tued up some of the highest fecal indicator bacteria pollution levels in the surf zone in the state.

Redondo Beach problems

Heal the Bay officials said water quality around Redondo Beach Pier worsened — for the first time since the report’s inception — after Sept. 21, when the Hyperion Treatment Plant next to Dockweiler State Beach released treated sewage within a mile of shore. The plant usually releases wastewater 5 miles out but changed its procedure because of a corroded outfall pipe under repair. Two days after the discharge, medical waste, condoms and tampon applicators washed ashore causing residents to petition to stop future near-shore releases from Hyperion.

“While this site has had historically poor wet weather water quality — likely due to storm drain impacts — there has never been an F summer dry-weather grade at this location,” Heal the Bay officials stated. “We will keep an eye on Redondo Pier this summer to determine if this is an ongoing trend.”

Areas to avoid

Heal the Bay officials said that ocean-goers should always try to avoid storm drains, creek mouths, piers and enclosed beaches because of the high likelihood they are contaminated.

“A day at the beach shouldn’t make anyone sick,” said Leslie Griffin, Heal the Bay’s chief water quality scientist. “The reassuring news is that, if you swim at an open-ocean beach in the summer away from storm drains, creek mouths, and piers you stand very little risk of getting ill.”

Cleanest beaches

Meanwhile, beaches along Rancho Palos Verdes dominated Los Angeles County’s “honor roll.” Long Point, Abalone Cove Shoreline Park and Portuguese Bend Cove all got A+ marks throughout the year during wet and dry periods.

Overall, the report found that beaches statewide had the best scores during dry winter months since Heal the Bay began this yearly analysis in 1991. Winter scores mirrored summer scores, with more than 90 percent of beaches getting As and Bs in year-round dry conditions — probably due to lower rainfall bringing reduced stormwater runoff.

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“With a fifth consecutive year of below-average rainfall in Southe Califoia, local beaches experienced less polluted runoff, which is fueled untreated into our seas via the vast stormdrain system,” according to a Heal the Bay statement. “Water quality remained in the excellent to very good range at the vast majority of beaches in Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties.”

However, Los Angeles County continues to lead the state in bacteria-infested coastal waters, with one in 9 beaches receiving C’s or lower during summer months, the report states.

Santa Monica beaches mostly had A’s during dry weather, but downgraded to C’s and F’s during rainstorms, and for up to three days following a downpour. County health officials advise people, as a rule, to stay out of the ocean for three days after a storm. However, Santa Monica Pier remained consistently bad, getting F’s year-round. Heal the Bay officials said they hope a new stormdrain diversion project will improve water quality there.

“Swimming at a beach with a water quality grade of C or lower greatly increases the risk of contracting illnesses such as stomach flu, ear infections, upper respiratory infections and rashes,” Heal the Bay officials said, in a written statement. “The news is worse during wet weather, when nearly 40 percent of beaches received an F grade.”

Mother’s Beach

Mother’s Beach in Marina del Rey suffers from the same problem that San Pedro’s ier harbor has: an enclosed area that doesn’t allow for sufficient circulation to dilute concentrated bacteria levels. Mother’s Beach received year-round F grades between the Lifeguard tower and boat dock, while the side facing the playground area got a B during dry summer periods but a D in the winter and an F after it rains.

Cabrillo Beach received D’s during rain storms, but otherwise got excellent scores. Similarly, Catalina Island’s Avalon Beach got A’s and B’s in dry weather, but failing grades when it rained.

Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades was another trouble spot, gaering a C and D in summer and winter dry months, and an F during rainstorms near the Santa Ynez drain at Sunset Boulevard. Other parts of the beach got excellent scores in dry times but low grades during and after rains.

The report suggests that plaing officials expand natural stormwater runoff projects that capture and reuse runoff rather than dumping it into the ocean.

“An average storm in Los Angeles County dumps more than 100 billion gallons of polluted stormwater into the ocean,” Heal the Bay officials said, in a written statement. “Even on a dry day, some 10 million gallons of polluted runoff flows into the Santa Monica Bay.”

The Beach Report Card is updated weekly at www.beachreportcard.org.