SAN DIEGO - Record rains over the past year in California brought unusually high levels of pollutants to the state's legendary beaches, a study released on Wednesday found. In its annual "Beach Report Card", Heal the Bay, a Santa Monica-based environmental group, gave 90 percent of California's 463 monitored beaches grades of C, D or F following inclement weather.
"That tells us we're not doing our job of reducing storm water pollution," said Mark Gold, the executive director for the group. "California's efforts to protect public health at the beach have been woefully inadequate."
Storm drain run-off polluted the most, followed by sewage spills, said the report, which recommended that swimmers wait at least three days before taking to the waters after storms.
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The study used data gathered by county health departments, local clean water groups and state testing at 346 locations to grade beaches. The 10 worst beaches include four in Los Angeles County, two in San Diego county and two in Orange County -- all in the southern part of the state which promotes an image of sun, surf and fun. Several are well-known tourist spots, including beaches in Malibu and Redondo Beach, Catalina Island and Paradise Cove in Los Angeles. One of the two worst is a beach just north of the Mexican border, in Imperial Beach, which is polluted by Mexican sewage and run-off from the Tijuana slough."
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