Heal the Bay recently gave Seal Beach’s ocean water quality all “A” grades for summer dry weather in the environmental group’s annual “Beach Report Card.”
Unfortunately, Seal Beach water received an “F” for wet winter weather at all four locations this year.
Assistant City Manager Patrick Gallegos said, “The city is glad to hear that we received good scores during the dry season, unfortunately, the scores received during the winter reflect the impact on the city of trash being dumped in the San Gabriel River.”
Surfside received an “A plus” and an “A” for wet winter water quality. However, Gallegos pointed out that the impact of the trash from the San Gabriel River increases the closer you get to the river’s opening. Gallegos worked with watershed groups when he was a senior analyst with a Los Angeles County city.
Neighboring Long Beach also received all “F” grades for wet winter water quality.
According to a statement issued by Heal the Bay, the wet winter weather that relieved California’s drought had a negative impact on the state’s beach water all along the cost. “Heavy rainfall last winter created billions of gallons of polluted runoff, which poured into storm drains and out to the ocean. Nearly half of the 85 beaches that L.A. County monitored year-round last year earned F grades from Heal the Bay during wet weather,” according to Heal the Beach.
Heal the Bay graded water quality at four locations in Seal Beach. The projection of First Street, for example, received an “A” for summer dry weather and a “B” for winter dry weather.
The other locations, projection of Eighth Street, 100 yards south of the pier, projection of 14th Street, received “A” grades for year-round dry weather water quality.
Although this year’s storms apparently had a negative impact on Seal Beach 2016-17 winter water grades, the dry summer grades were an improvement over 2015-16. Last year, Seal Beach received two “B’s.”
