State restores water quality monitoring funds

As the state moves forward with a near-record budget deficit, the California State Water Resources Control Board unanimously voted Nov. 4 to make sure water quality monitoring at the state's beaches won't disappear.
The board assured that the state will provide "restored funding for beach water quality monitoring at 15 coastal counties throughout the state through the end of the year," according to an announcement by Heal the Bay.
"In September, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used a line-item veto to ax near $1 million in funding for this critical program.
Heal the Bay applauds the board's decision to fund testing that is critical for protecting the public health of ocean users throughout the state. Funds will be re-appropriated from grant program funds derived from the Clean Beaches Initiative, which voters approved in 2000. The board has the option to extend the agreement for another year.
According to Heal the Bay's end of summer report card, about 91 percent of the 514 beaches monitored statewide this summer received A or B grades, which indicated excellent or very good water quality. Those grades are essentially the same as last year when 92 percent of sites got good grades.
Two years of drought conditions contributed to the positive results statewide, because the dry conditions limited the amount of urban runoff, the biggest source of pollution, according to the group. Also, infrastructure enhancements also played a part, funded by the state's $100 million Clean Beach Initiative, to improve grades at beaches.
Los Angeles County still leads the state for bad grades, with nearly one out of five beaches tracked in the county receiving F grades, 21 out of 109 sites monitored this summer.
Despite some modest improvements, Long Beach still suffers the worst water quality in the state, largely because it sits at the terminus of the contaminant-plagued Los Angeles River. With nearly half of its 25 monitored beaches receiving C to F grades, the city of Long Beach has undertaken proactive source tracking and abatement measures.