COUNTIES SEEK CAUSE OF RINCON POLLUTION.

Byline: Associated Press 

Ventura and Santa Barbara counties have agreed to team up and try to identify the source of harmful bacteria that has forced closures of one of the world's most popular surfing beaches.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to join Santa Barbara County in a $25,000 study of water quality in the 9,300-acre Rincon Creek drainage area.

Surfers and environmentalists have long sought a thorough survey of the creek and its tributaries that empty into the ocean at Rincon Point near the boundary between the two counties.

``It's a great partnership effort,'' said Supervisor Kathy Long, whose district includes part of Rincon. ``We're certainly interested in identifying the bacteriological sources at Rincon so we can keep our beaches open more than closed.''

Each county agreed to pay $5,670 for a consultant, and both counties are providing staff, technical and laboratory support. Carpinteria and Surfrider Foundation USA are also contributing to the study, which began Wednesday with sampling of creek water.

Rincon Point is one of the world's best surf spots. This year, however, the beach has been closed on all but four days because of bacteria.

Concentrations of fecal coliform bacteria, an indicator of human waste and viral agents, already frequently exceed federal standards, and the standards will become more stringent under new regulations next year.

The source of the pollution is unknown, but many sources are suspected, including faulty septic tanks, agricultural runoff and wild animals' waste.

Rincon Point is one of many polluted beaches in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Santa Barbara County officials have detected unsafe bacteria levels at many of their beaches throughout the year.

In Ventura County, tests by the Surfrider Foundation have shown unsafe pollution since Aug. 30 at the south jetty and Gonzales Road, near Oxnard, and at Solimar, north of Ventura.