BEACHES CLEANER, BUT STILL FLAWED L.A. COUNTY SHORES KEEP TITLE OF MOST POLLUTED IN STATE.

Byline: DANA BARTHOLOMEW

Staff Writer

Light rainfall made Los Angeles County beaches cleaner last year but they were still the most polluted in the state, according to a study released Tuesday.

Thanks to fewer pollutants draining into the ocean, county beach closures or bacterial advisories dropped 6 percent in 2006 and many popular beaches fell off the worst waters list.

"The bottom line is that the beaches are still dirty and people are at risk of getting sick when they get into the water," said Michelle Mehta, an attorney for the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, author of the report.

"But there is a wide variety of water quality -- and some beaches are cleaner."

In its annual "Testing the Waters" guide, the group tallied 2,072 county beach closures or advisories for dangerous bacteria or sewage spills, the first decrease in six years.

But nationwide, beaches were dirtier and posted a record number of unhealthy days, according to the report. No-swim days due to sewage spills doubled in the U.S., it said.

Beach closures mean that water is dirty enough to cause gastroenteritis, dysentery, hepatitis, respiratory ailments and other serious health problems.

For the fourth year running, local beaches ranked as the most contaminated in the state, with only 1 percent suffering no pollution.

The worst beach in Southern California was Avalon Beach, north of Green Pleasure Pier, on Santa Catalina Island, a so-called "beach bum" that violated state health standards for 53 percent of samples taken.

Contenders for the state's two bum beaches included the popular beach at Santa Monica Pier and some beaches around Long Beach.

The NRDC study, based on federal Environmental Protection Agency data, documented 4,644 closing and health advisory days last year in California.

But storm-water runoff, a major source of ocean pollution, decreased in the Southland last year, leading to vast improvements at some beaches, with the worst "beach bums" of 2005 falling off the list.

Will Rogers State Beach at Santa Monica Canyon, once among the nation's worst by exceeding health standards 77 percent of the time, improved to a 43 percent rate.

The fabled Rincon Beach in Santa Barbara County, which once exceeded health standards by 50 percent, dropped to just 4 percent.

And once highly polluted beaches at Malibu, Topanga State, Dockweiler State and Cabrillo were no longer ranked as dishonorable mentions, surpassing healthful limits less than a third of the time.

"Right now, we've been remarking how clean the water is, with 20- to 25-foot visibility," said Chuck Moore, a county lifeguard at Malibu.

"If Malibu Creek is closed, everything is good. But when it's open, the water is suspect."

The Natural Resources Defense Council blamed a general rise in polluted beaches to urban sprawl and to aging or poorly designed sewage and storm-water systems.

Mehta recommended that, before going swimming, beachgoers research the best and worst beaches and consult the county health department advisories.

"People should choose their beach wisely," warned Mehta, whose office is in Santa Monica, "in order to reduce the risk."

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, map

Photo:

(1) Ellen Portillo, 9, left, and her cousins Christopher Alvarado, 5, center, and Leslie Alvarado, 11, venture into the water at Santa Monica Pier on Tuesday.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

(2) Lea Krause plays with her daughter Tessa near the pier at Santa Monica, one of the most polluted beaches in California, on Tuesday.

Carla Aceved/Special to the Daily News

Map:

Beach report card

SOURCE: Natural Resources Defense Council