4 Los Angeles County beaches remain under high bacteria warning after three-year study
by Mark Hosenball, The San Francisco Chronicle / January 31, 2017
In August, 2014, an advisory for all beaches in Los Angeles County was issued after a countywide survey and subsequent tests found that more dangerous bacteria were present on many of its beaches than in the past. Since then, the beach safety advisory has been in place for three years.
The beaches that remained under the advisory in the winter and spring of this year are at least partially due to rain — but much more likely to have been left under because surfs were so good.
The first-aid information center at the California Department of Health Services has been operating on the third floor of the Department’s Building 527, which houses three office areas.
There are seven people at the center — or as many as it can handle. Most of those are workers in the Department’s public health bureau. A few people come for meetings about health and safety issues in California, and that’s it.
Since the county study began — with a focus on South Bay and Long Beach — most of the action in the public health department has been concerned with making the beaches and water clean enough to offer safe swimming and eating.
The bacteria advisory remained in place through the winter, but it was lifted last summer when the County Department of Public Health determined the bacteria problem was greatly reduced after several months of follow-up research.
Now, after a summer of beach cleanup, a new study is underway to evaluate whether the beaches are safe again.
The study will focus on Lighthouse Beach, a South Bay beach with some surf activity, Long Beach, Harbor Park, and the beach at Ocean Park, all in the city of Malibu.
More than 2,500 samples were taken from the beaches, and hundreds of swimmers were tested.
The beaches that remained under the advisory in the winter and spring of this year are at least partially due to rain — but much more likely to have been left under because surfs were so good.
The second author of the study,
