Latest news with #TracyQuinn
CBS News
22-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Heal the Bay reveals California's dirtiest beaches, with Santa Monica Pier at No. 2
The environmental nonprofit Heal the Bay released its annual Beach Report Card on Thursday and for the fourth year in a row, the beach at the Santa Monica Pier has made the beach bummer list -- this year as the second most polluted beach in California. The organization's Beach Report Card ranks the most polluted and cleanest beaches in the state based on water quality tests from April 2024 to March 2025, evaluating harmful bacteria levels. Annelisa Moe, Heal the Bay's Associate Director of Science & Policy, Water Quality said letter grades of A to F are assigned based on levels of fecal bacteria found in ocean water. "Fecal bacteria is an indicator of the risk of getting an acute illness like an ear infection or a gastrointestinal issue," she said. Heal the Bay is calling on the city of Santa Monica to do more to improve water quality at the pier. During a Thursday news conference at the pier, Tracy Quinn, CEO of Heal the Bay said the city must take a leadership role through funding, coordination and swift action. "We can't stand on this beach that will be crowded with happy families this holiday weekend and not acknowledge our deep concern with the lack of progress in improving the water quality here," Quinn said. "We acknowledge the efforts already made by the city of Santa Monica and LA County, including sand replacement, trash abatement, stormwater capture projects and the placement of bird netting, that has unfortunately already fallen into disrepair. But these efforts have not been enough." The organization wrote on its "Beach Bummers" list that urban runoff and high levels of activities at the pier contribute to contamination. Quinn said there should be increased water-quality monitoring, bacteria source identification, and a dedicated task force to chart a path forward. "Together we can restore the public confidence in this beloved beach as our region prepares to be on the world stage in the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, clean water at the Santa Monica Pier must be a shared priority, and we need to start now," Quinn said. The 10 most polluted beaches tested in summer dry weather: Playa Blanca (Baja California) Santa Monica Pier (Los Angeles County) Tijuana Slough at Tijuana River Mouth (San Diego County) Chicken Ranch Beach at Channel (Marin County) Linda Mar Beach at San Pedro Creek (San Mateo County) Erckenbrack Park, Foster City (San Mateo County) Tijuana Slough, North of Tijuana River (San Diego County) Border Field State Park at Monument Rd. (San Diego County) Imperial Beach at Seacoast Dr. (San Diego County Pillar Point Harbor Beach (San Mateo County) Orange County topped the best beach "Honor Roll" for a second consecutive year, with 34 beaches earning top water quality rankings. Los Angeles County has seven beaches on this year's Honor Roll. Most of these top-performing beaches are along the Palos Verdes Peninsula or Malibu. It was also noted that tests for this report were prior to the January wildfires and do not reflect heavy metals and other fire-related contaminants that entered waters after the January wildfires.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Here are California's dirtiest beaches. Take a look before you take a dip
As temperatures rise across the Southland, droves of people will hit the beach in search of a reprieve — but you might want to think twice before taking a dip near one of the region's most famous landmarks. For the second year in a row, the area around the Santa Monica Pier was named one of California's dirtiest beaches by environmental nonprofit Heal the Bay. The pier-adjacent beach came in at No. 2 this year due to persistent water quality issues, according to the organization's annual Beach Report Card. Heal the Bay monitors beaches along the California coast — testing water samples for fecal bacteria, including coliform, E. coli and enterococcus. High concentrations of these bacteria indicate the presence of pathogens that could be harmful to beachgoers. Of the more than 500 beaches that Heal the Bay monitored in 2024, the top 10 dirtiest also included four in San Diego County, three in San Mateo County and one in Marin County. The 10th beach, and most dirty one, on the list was in Baja California, Mexico. This year's beach grades do not account for wildfire runoff. In January, rainfall and debris from the catastrophic L.A. County firestorm prompted officials to issue an ocean water closure and ocean water quality advisory from Surfrider Beach in Malibu to Dockweiler State Beach at World Way in Playa del Rey. The advisories have since been lifted. Public health officials say despite fire-related debris washing ashore, there is little evidence of fire-related toxins in ocean water in high enough concentrations to make someone sick. Heal the Bay continues to conduct separate testing specific to the fires and their effects. The Santa Monica Pier, specifically south of Pico and north of Wilshire boulevards to the pier, is Los Angeles County's only beach to make Heal the Bay's list. 'Every day, families who visit Santa Monica for a day of fun in the sun may be unknowingly risking illness by splashing in polluted waters," Tracy Quinn, chief executive of Heal the Bay, said in a statement. "It's time for the City of Santa Monica to prioritize efforts to identify and reduce bacteria levels at the Santa Monica Pier." The beach area graded out poorly despite upgrades to the pier — including stormwater capture systems and bird deterrent netting, according to the report. Pollution for the pier remains a problem, worsened by urban runoff and high levels of water-contaminating activities, such as the disposal of fish guts from recreational fishing, which attracts seabirds. Playa Blanca (Baja California, Mexico) Santa Monica Pier (Los Angeles County) Tijuana Slough at Tijuana River mouth (San Diego County) Chicken Ranch Beach at channel (Marin County) Linda Mar Beach at San Pedro Creek (San Mateo County) Erckenbrack Park, Foster City (San Mateo County) Tijuana Slough, north of Tijuana River (San Diego County) Border Field State Park at Monument Road (San Diego County) Imperial Beach at Seacoast Drive (San Diego County) Pillar Point Harbor Beach (San Mateo County) Out of more than 500 monitored beaches in the state, 62 earned a spot on Heal the Bay's "honor roll," a significant improvement from just 12 beaches in last year's report and only two during the year before that. Seven counties — Orange, San Diego, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Mateo and San Francisco — earned top quality marks in this year's report, also a notable increase from previous years. Southern California beaches typically dominate the honor roll because many counties in Northern and Central California do not monitor water quality year-round. From April through October, state law requires county governments to test water samples. However, counties are not required to monitor water quality during off-season months, so many counties opt not to do so from November to March. Orange County dominated the top 10 list of Heal the Bay's honor roll for the second straight year. Balboa Beach at the Wedge Balboa Pier beach Capistrano County Beach, South Capistrano Bay Crystal Cove State Park Dana Point Harbor Huntington City Beach Laguna Beach Newport Bay North Aliso County Beach San Clemente Pier The 62-beach honor roll includes 34 in Orange County, 12 in San Diego County, and seven in L.A. County. Ventura County has five, San Mateo County has two and Santa Barbara and San Francisco counties each have one. In L.A. County, the seven honor roll beaches are Dockweiler State Beach at Grand Avenue, Hermosa Beach, Long Point in Rancho Palos Verdes, Manhattan Beach at 28th Street, Nicholas Beach at San Nicholas Canyon Creek mouth, Nicholas Beach 100 feet west of lifeguard tower and Portuguese Bend Cove in Rancho Palos Verdes. During the 2024 to 2025 monitoring period, Heal the Bay says California saw a noticeable improvement in coastal water quality, something the organization attributed to a very dry summer and winter. With 9% less rainfall this year compared with the historical 10-year average, fewer pollutants, such as bacteria, trash and chemicals, washed into storm drains and onto the ocean, according to the report. Officials recommend staying at least 100 yards away from storm drains and river outlets when entering the water and to always wait at least 72 hours after it rains before going in the ocean. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
22-05-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
Here are California's 10 dirtiest beaches. Take a look before you take a dip
As temperatures rise across the Southland, droves of people will hit the beach in search of a reprieve — but you might want to think twice before taking a dip near one of the region's most famous landmarks. For the second year in a row, the area around the Santa Monica Pier was named one of California's 10 dirtiest beaches by Heal the Bay. The pier-adjacent beach came in at No. 2 this year due to persistent water quality issues, according to the organization's annual Beach Report Card. Heal the Bay, an environmental nonprofit, monitors beaches along the California coast — testing water samples for fecal bacteria, including coliform, E. coli and enterococcus species. High concentrations of these bacteria indicate the presence of pathogens that could be harmful to beachgoers. Of the more than 500 beaches that Heal the Bay monitored in 2024, the top 10 dirtiest also included one beach in Baja California, four in San Diego, three in San Mateo County and one in Marin County. This year's beach grades do not account for wildfire runoff. In January, rainfall and debris from the catastrophic Los Angeles firestorm prompted officials to issue an ocean water closure and ocean water quality advisory from Surfrider Beach in Malibu to Dockweiler State Beach at World Way in Playa del Rey. The advisories have since been lifted. Public health officials say despite fire-related debris washing ashore, there is little evidence of fire-related toxins in ocean water in high enough concentrations to make someone sick. Heal the Bay continues to do separate testing specific to the fires and their effects. The Santa Monica Pier, specifically south of Pico and north of Wilshire boulevards to the pier, is Los Angeles County's only beach to make Heal the Bay's naughty list. 'Every day, families who visit Santa Monica for a day of fun in the sun may be unknowingly risking illness by splashing in polluted waters. It's time for the City of Santa Monica to prioritize efforts to identify and reduce bacteria levels at the Santa Monica Pier,' Tracy Quinn, chief executive of Heal the Bay, said in a statement. The beach area graded out poorly despite upgrades to the Pier — including storm water capture systems and bird deterrent netting, according to the report. Pollution for the pier remains a problem, worsened by urban runoff and high levels of water-contaminating activities like the disposal of fish guts from recreational fishing, which attracts seabirds. Out of more than 500 monitored beaches in the state, 62 earned a spot on Heal the Bay's 'honor roll,' a significant improvement from just 12 beaches in last year's report and only two during the 2022-2023 year. Seven counties — Orange, San Diego, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Mateo and San Francisco — earned top quality marks in this year's report, also a notable increase from previous years. Southern California beaches typically dominate the 'honor roll' because many counties in Northern and Central California do not monitor water quality year-round. From April through October, state law requires county governments to test water samples. However, counties are not required to monitor water quality during off-season months, so many counties opt not to do so from November to March. Orange County dominated the top 10 list of Heal the Bay's 'honor roll' for the second straight year. The 62-beach 'honor roll' includes 34 in Orange County, 12 in San Diego County, and seven in Los Angeles County. Ventura County has five, San Mateo County has two and Santa Barbara and San Francisco counties each have one. In L.A. County, the seven 'honor roll' beaches were Dockweiler State Beach at Grand Avenue, Hermosa Beach, Long Point in Rancho Palos Verdes, Manhattan Beach at 28th Street, Nicholas Beach at San Nicholas Canyon Creek mouth, Nicholas Beach 100 feet west of lifeguard tower and Portuguese Bend Cove in Rancho Palos Verdes. During the 2024 to 2025 monitoring period, Heal the Bay says California saw a noticeable improvement in coastal water quality, which the organization attributed to a very dry summer and winter. With 9% less rainfall this year compared to the historical 10-year average, fewer pollutants including bacteria, trash and chemicals were washed into storm drains and on to the ocean, according to the report. Officials recommend staying at least 100 yards away from storm drains and river outlets when entering the water and to always wait at least 72 hours after it rains before going in the ocean.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Fire debris is washing up on L.A.'s beaches. County officials warn the public to steer clear
The gunk has turned up on shorelines from Malibu to Redondo Beach: ghostly lines of charred black bits and melted debris left behind by retreating waves. It's a mix of ash, sand and pulverized flecks of burned wood and plastic, material destroyed during January's fires and then washed into the sea by recent rains. The county Department of Beaches and Harbors declared last week that the stuff was 'not hazardous to beachgoers or the environment,' based on initial testing of samples taken from Will Rogers State Beach and Topanga Lagoon in late January. The department also said that the sediment won't be removed under the county's ongoing efforts to clear fire debris from shorelines. 'Attempting to scrape it from rocks and sand could destroy marine habitats, erode the shoreline, and cause long-term environmental damage,' the department said in a statement. 'Instead, natural tides and weather will gradually break down and wash away the sediment, allowing the ecosystem to recover naturally.' Initial testing by the Department of Public Works found that heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated pesticides, polychlorinated biphenol (PCBs), volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, and asbestos were below levels that would characterize the debris as hazardous waste. The county is still advising beachgoers to steer clear of visible fire debris. Local environmental groups also urged caution. 'Risk tolerance is a deeply personal choice and right now the limited data that has been shared hasn't identified concentrations of contaminants that pose a health risk,' said Tracy Quinn, president of the environmental nonprofit Health the Bay. 'I personally will be waiting until additional lab results are back before getting in the water between Santa Monica State Beach and Dockweiler.' The combination of last month's fires and ensuing heavy rains sent unprecedented amounts of ash, debris and chemical residue coursing into the sea via the region's massive network of storm drains and concrete-lined rivers. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board is working with the county to test ocean water near areas affected by the fires, which burned more than 40,000 acres across the L.A. region last month. Unlike rural wildfires fueled by organic material, the Palisades and Eaton fires consumed homes and businesses. Flowing into the sea are the burned remnants of cars, plastics, batteries, household chemicals and other potentially toxic material. 'I don't think there's a precedent for this kind of input into the ocean ecosystem,' marine biologist Noelle Bowlin said at the time. In late January, county public health officials deemed ocean water off-limits to beachgoers from Las Flores State Beach in Malibu to Santa Monica State Beach, citing concerns about potential toxic or carcinogenic chemicals in the sand and water. Even after the closures were downgraded to advisories, health officials warned the public to stay away from fire debris in the area, noting that runoff flowing onto or pooling on the sand could contain harmful substances. Within days of the fires' eruption, ash and charred debris carried by the winds littered the ocean's surface as far as 100 miles offshore. Wind and waves have since distributed charred material down the county's coastline. County agencies said the initial sediment testing that the beaches and harbors department has referred to was conducted by the Department of Public Works after Jan. 26, when the region saw its first rainfall in nine months. The water board has said it is planning in coming weeks to test the dark sediment accumulating on the beaches for fire-related compounds such as heavy metals, PCBs and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The latter two are endocrine-disrupting chemicals associated with health problems in humans and wildlife. As part of its ocean monitoring efforts, the water board already collected seawater samples on Jan. 22, Jan. 27, Feb. 6 and Feb.18 to analyze for heavy metals, bacteria, PCBs and PAHs. 'These are chemicals that we expect to see in water runoff after a fire, based on all of our experience with previous fires in California,' the water board's assistant executive officer, Jenny Newman, said during a Feb. 18 town hall organized by the public health department. Though data isn't back from the most recent testing date, the first three rounds showed lower-than-expected levels of lead, cadmium and other heavy metals, the board said. The samples also came back with levels of PAHs and naturally occurring metals such as iron, manganese and selenium that were above water-quality standards, the board said. All are substances typically found in wildfire runoff, and the board expects to see levels decline over time, Newman said. Once testing of the sediment starts, 'we're going to sample the beaches for as far away as where dark sand is being observed,' Newman said. 'We'll share that data with the public when it's available.' This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CBS News
16-02-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Scientists are racing to discover the depth of ocean damage sparked by the LA wildfires
On a recent Sunday, Tracy Quinn drove down the Pacific Coast Highway to assess damage wrought upon the coastline by the Palisades Fire. The water line was darkened by ash. Burnt remnants of washing machines and dryers and metal appliances were strewn about the shoreline. Sludge carpeted the water's edge. Waves during high tide lapped onto charred homes, pulling debris and potentially toxic ash into the ocean as they receded. "It was just heartbreaking," said Quinn, president and CEO of the environmental group Heal the Bay, whose team has reported ash and debris some 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of the Palisades burn area west of Los Angeles. As crews work to remove potentially hundreds of thousands of tons of hazardous materials from the Los Angeles wildfires, researchers and officials are trying to understand how the fires on land have impacted the sea. The Palisades and Eaton fires scorched thousands of homes, businesses, cars and electronics, turning everyday items into hazardous ash made of pesticides, asbestos, plastics, lead, heavy metals and more. Since much of it could end up in the Pacific Ocean, there are concerns and many unknowns about how the fires could affect life under the sea. "We haven't seen a concentration of homes and buildings burned so close to the water," Quinn said. Fire debris and potentially toxic ash could make the water unsafe for surfers and swimmers, especially after rainfall that can transport chemicals, trash and other hazards into the sea. Longer term, scientists worry if and how charred urban contaminants will affect the food supply. The atmospheric river and mudslides that pummeled the Los Angeles region last week exacerbated some of those fears. When the fires broke out in January, one of Mara Dias' first concerns was ocean water contamination. Strong winds were carrying smoke and ash far beyond the blazes before settling at sea, said the water quality manager for the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental nonprofit. Scientists on board a research vessel during the fires detected ash and waste on the water as far as 100 miles (161 kilometers) offshore, said marine ecologist Julie Dinasquet with the University of California, San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Things like twigs and shard. They described the smell as electronics burning, she recalled, "not like a nice campfire." Runoff from rains also are a huge and immediate concern. Rainfall picks up contaminants and trash while flushing toward the sea through a network of drains and rivers. That runoff could contain "a lot of nutrients, nitrogen and phosphate that end up in the ash of the burn material that can get into the water," said Dias, as well as "heavy metals, something called PAHs, which are given off when you burn different types of fuel." Mudslides and debris flows in the Palisades Fire burn zone also can dump more hazardous waste into the ocean. After fires, the soil in burn scars is less able to absorb rainfall and can develop a layer that repels water from the remains of seared organic material. When there is less organic material to hold the soil in place, the risks of mudslides and debris flows increase. Los Angeles County officials, with help from other agencies, have set thousands of feet of concrete barriers, sandbags, silt socks and more to prevent debris from reaching beaches. The LA County Board of Supervisors also recently passed a motion seeking state and federal help to expand beach clean ups, prepare for storm runoff and test ocean water for potential toxins and chemicals, among other things. Beyond the usual samples, state water officials and others are testing for total and dissolved metals such as arsenic, lead and aluminum and volatile organic compounds. They also are sampling for microplastics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, that are harmful to human and aquatic life, and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a group of man-made chemicals shown to cause cancer in animals and other serious health effects. Now banned from being manufactured, they were used in products like pigments, paints and electrical equipment. County public health officials said chemical tests of water samples last month did not raise health concerns, so they downgraded one beach closure to an ocean water advisory. Beachgoers were still advised to stay out of the water. Dinasquet and colleagues are working to understand how far potentially toxic ash and debris dispersed across the ocean, how deep and how fast they sunk and, over time, where it ends up. Forest fires can deposit important nutrients like iron and nitrogen into the ocean ecosystem, boosting the growth of phytoplankton, which can create a positive, cascading effect across the ecosystem. But the potentially toxic ash from urban coastal fires could have dire consequences, Dinasquet said. "Reports are already showing that there was a lot of lead and asbestos in the ash," she added. "This is really bad for people so its probably also very bad for the marine organisms." A huge concern is whether toxic contaminants from the fire will enter the food chain. Researchers plan to take tissue fragments from fish for signs of heavy metals and contaminants. But they say it will take a while to understand how a massive urban fire will affect the larger ecosystem and our food supply. Dias noted the ocean has long taken in pollution from land, but with fires and other disasters, "everything is compounded and the situation is even more dire."
