Avalon Bay received four A’s and a B for its water quality in the “Beach Report Card” recently issued by Heal the Bay.
As recently as 2013, Avalon was at the top of the environmental group’s “Beach Bummers” list—and had been for years. Avalon was at or near the top of the list from 2009 to 2013.
But since 2014, Avalon has been getting good grades.
Avalon Bay received four A’s and a B for its water quality in the “Beach Report Card” recently issued by Heal the Bay.
As recently as 2013, Avalon was at the top of the environmental group’s “Beach Bummers” list—and had been for years. Avalon was at or near the top of the list from 2009 to 2013.
But since 2014, Avalon has been getting good grades.
“For the third year in a row Avalon Harbor is not on the Heal the Bay Beach Bummer List,” according to Interim City Manager Denise Radde’s Friday, May 27 update. “It was a dramatic turn-around starting in 2013, but our success is the result of significant efforts from past and present City Council, staff and the Avalon community. We know implementing all the programs and policies required to get us this far have not been easy, but they clearly have been worth it. We are not done, and we know this is something that we will always need to stay on top of, but it is gratifying to know that we are one the right path.”
Mayor Anni Marshall said she wasn’t surprised at the results because the community has done so much work. She described efforts to improve the local water as an on-going effort of the residents and the city.
Heal the Bay grades water in five locations in Avalon Bay: east of the Casino arch, 100 feet west of the pier, 500 feet west of the pier, 50 feet east of the pier and 100 feet east of the pier.
For 2015, Heal the Bay gave Avalon a B for the water 50 feet west of the pier. The other locations received an A.
In 2014, Heal the Bay gave Avalon an A for the water 100 feet east of the pier along with two C’s and two B’s.
Avalon wasn’t the only Southern California community to receive good grades.
According to a recent Heal the Bay press release, “Some 92 percent of (Los Angeles County) beaches received A or B grades for the high-traffic summer period (April-October 2015), essentially flat with last year’s results. That figure also marks a 6 percent uptick from the county’s summer average for the previous five years.”
However, according to Heal the Bay, LA County “still leads the state in the number of beaches with poor water quality.”
According to Heal the Bay’s website, “while the waters (of Avalon) are clear and full of marine life, local beaches consistently have unacceptably high levels of bacteria. These bacteria, which are from unknown causes, can make swimmers sick.”
