The Heal the Bay Report Card Is In

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July 28, 2021

Heal the Bay just released its 2020-2021 beach report card and several Orange County beaches made the Honor Roll meaning that they are some of the best in California. Heal the Bay surveys over 500 beaches along the 840 miles of coast.

To make the honor roll a beach must score an A+ in all three seasons (summer dry, winter dry, wet weather). Beaches in our service area to receive the honor are:

  • Newport Bay, Promontory Point
  • Newport Beach, at Orange Street
  • Newport Beach, at 52nd/53rd Street
  • Balboa Beach Pier
  • Balboa Beach, The Wedge
  • Crystal Cove
  • 1000 Steps Beach, at 9th St.

OC San takes water quality very serious which is why we have an Ocean Monitoring Program that continually evaluates the coastal water to ensure the marine life and the public are protected. Nerissa, OC San’s 60-foot ocean monitoring vessel, is used to take fish and water samples along 11 miles of coastline and 35 square miles of ocean. Weekly samples are also collected from 38 stations along 21 miles of Orange County beaches to ensure public and environmental health for beachgoers and marine life.

As part of a regional cooperative effort to protect our beaches and coastal waters, OC San began a program in 2001 to accept up to 10 million gallons per day of dry weather urban runoff (DWUR) into OC San’s sewer system for treatment. DWUR is generated by daily activities, such as over-irrigating lawns, washing cars and hosing down driveways. If Best Management Practices are not employed to minimize the amount of runoff generated and to keep areas clean, the DWUR picks up contaminants and other materials that can then make its way to the beach and contribute to beach postings and closures.

OC San tracks and monitors the quality of the urban runoff discharges into its sewer system to ensure compliance with OC San’s regulatory requirements, local limits, and to assess impacts.  By accepting up to 10 million gallons per day of DWUR, OC San helps the community minimize impacts to coastal beaches and the public health while still ensuring OC San’s primary function of collection, treatment, disposal, and reclamation of over 180 million gallons of wastewater and the associated byproducts every day.

Learn more about OC San’s Ocean Monitoring Program and Urban Runoff Program.

To read the full report visit the Heal the Bay website.