Hidden dangers lurk in some California beaches

Some California beaches are teeming with bacteria, and people are discussing ways to keep beachgoers healthy.

The Surfrider Foundation just released its latest beach water quality report. Their tests show that some California beaches are repeat offenders, consistently breaking state rules on bacteria levels.

San Diego's Imperial Beach is one of the worst culprits. Every sample from Imperial Beach in 2023 had more bacteria than allowed by state rules.

Up the coast, Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica also got bad marks for water quality. The report indicates that 54% of the samples collected from this beach exceeded acceptable bacteria levels. Similarly, the San Luis Creek Mouth in San Luis Obispo failed to meet state standards in 34% of the samples.

While these findings paint a grim picture for some California beaches, the greater Los Angeles region fared slightly better. None of the beaches highlighted as consistently dirty were located in the L.A. area. The Surfrider Foundation's data shows that Santa Monica Pier, a popular tourist destination, passed state standards in 89% of the samples collected over the past 12 months.

Keep in mind, though, that this is just one way to measure how clean beach water is. Heal the Bay's latest report tells a different story. Their findings ranked the area surrounding Santa Monica Pier as the beach with the worst water quality between Tijuana and Washington, tying with Mexico's Playa Blanca.

Want to avoid getting sick? Stay out of the water for a bit after it rains. That's when the water's usually the dirtiest.

Do yourself a favor and check online for any red flags before you pack your beach bag. L.A. and Orange Counties provide easily accessible online resources for this purpose.