Health

Report Shows Pollution Increased At Calif. Beaches In 2010

By Ed Joyce / Reporter

Published June 29, 2011 at 4:00 AM PDT

This story was published more than 12 years ago.

A sign warns beach-goers to stay out of the water because of contamination.

Report Shows Pollution Increased At Calif. Beaches In 2010

A report released Wednesday shows California had persistent problems with pollution at its beaches last year.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) annual report, "Testing the Waters," looks at U.S. beach water quality.

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California waters are not getting any cleaner.

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"Unfortunately beach water quality got worse the last year compared with 2009," said Noah Garrison with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "And the number of closing and advisory days at our beaches nearly doubled."

He said what's in the polluted ocean stew are pathogens and other harmful bacteria.

"The implications of swimming in contaminated water are that people come down with skin rashes, pink eye, stomach ailments, gastroenteritis, ear, nose and throat problems and respiratory ailments," said Garrison. "There's a host of illnesses and diseases that are associated with swimming in contaminated water."

Garrison said several San Diego County beaches from the Mexican border to Camp Pendleton were closed because of pollution last year.

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NRDC's annual survey of water quality and public notification at U.S. beaches finds that the number of beach closings and advisories in 2009 hit their sixth-highest level in the 20-year history of the report.

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But he said 20 county beaches had no closings or pollution advisory days in 2010, including Pacific Beach and Carlsbad Municipal Beach.

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Garrison said stopping the pollution at its source, which means storm water runoff in San Diego, can help reduce the toxic mix finding its way to the ocean.

California ranked 22nd out of 30 coastal states (including the Great Lakes Region) in the NRDC report.

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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