Encinitas Beaches Receive Good Grades for Water Quality

Beaches along the California coast—including some in Encinitas—received generally high marks for water quality, but several locations in San Diego County received failing grades, according to a report released Wednesday by the environmental group Heal the Bay.   

The largest concentration of polluted beaches in the county were near the border, including Border Field State Park, the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Reserve and the south end of Imperial Beach, according to the group's 2010-11 Beach Report Card.   

Also receiving F grades were two locations at Mission Bay—Bonita Cove and the visitor's center—along with Shoreline Beach Park at Shelter Island and the outlet of the San Luis Rey River in Oceanside.   

The group's Beach Report Card assigns letter grades to beaches based on levels of weekly bacteria pollution.   

No San Diego-area beaches were on Heal the Bay's list of Top 10 “Beach Bummers,” but quite a few in the North County made the honor roll, meaning they never exceeded state bacterial standards for ocean water quality during dry weather.   

They included :

-- in Encinitas, the Pipes surf break at San Elijo State Park and north of the park's stairs, Cardiff State Beach south of the Charthouse and Seaside State Park;       

-- in Oceanside, at Tyson and Forster streets and near the end of St. Malo Road;   

-- in Carlsbad, at the end of Cerezo Drive and Palomar Airport Road;   

-- in Solana Beach, Fletcher Cove off Lomas Santa Fe Drive; and   

-- in Del Mar at the end of 15th Street.   

Of 76 monitoring locations, 93 percent received grades of either A or B in the report during dry weather. The figure dropped to 72 percent after a rainstorm.   

Residents can check grades for their favorite beaches at the website beachreportcard.org.

City News Service contributed to this report.