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Rincon cited for foul water
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More from County NewsDespite water-quality gains at beaches countywide, Rincon Beach in north Ventura County was one of the most polluted in California in 2007, according to a new Natural Resources Defense Council report.
Water tested at the picturesque surf spot repeatedly failed to meet national minimum public health standards, joining repeat offenders Avalon on Santa Catalina Island and the Santa Monica Pier area as having the highest levels of fecal bacteria.
Of 50 weekly tests at Rincon Beach in 2007, bacteria levels exceeded minimum health standards 38 percent of the time. The frequency ranks it "probably as one of the worst 100 public beaches in the country," said Nancy Stoner, director of the council's clean water project.
The number of days in Ventura County with beach closings or health advisories, however, decreased for the fifth year in a row to 46 in 2007, down from 168 in 2006, according to the environmental group's annual beach water-quality report issued Tuesday.
The state's foulest shores also included Doheny State Beach south of Dana Point Harbor, Ocean Beach in San Francisco and Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro.
Stoner called for quicker water test results. It can take as long as 48 hours after collecting water samples before swimmers and surfers are notified that beach water could be unsafe. New testing methods can provide results in only a few hours, and the council is promoting a bill in Congress that would adopt more rapid testing standards nationwide.
"The tests can be taken at 7 a.m. and advisories could be put in place by 10 a.m., when beachgoers arrive," Stoner said.
Swimmers in tainted water can contract stomach flu, ear infections, skin rashes or other ailments, Stoner said. Polluted runoff from storm-drain systems, especially after rainstorms, was the biggest reason for beach closures nationwide, followed by sewage spills, she said.
Ventura County environmental health officials cast Rincon Beach as a lone bad apple. Warning signs were posted at the beach on 12 days in 2007, a relatively dry year, said Michael McFadden, an ocean water monitoring program coordinator with the county Environmental Health Division.
In contrast, popular surfing spots at Silverstrand Beach in Oxnard, Surfers Point in Ventura and Emma Wood State Beach and Mondos Cove north of Ventura didn't exceed federal standards at all in 2007, the council's results show.
McFadden, however, was surprised that Rincon was cited as one of the worst spots in the state. He said the council probably used data collected in Rincon Creek, where higher levels of animal bacteria naturally occur.
He said it takes at least 24 hours to get test results from the lab, and likely closer to 30 hours to get an advisory posted at the beach.
People have been trying to clean up the Rincon area for more than a decade. The nonprofit group Heal the Ocean was created in 1998 by people convinced the pollution stemmed from faulty residential septic tanks along the coast. Rincon residents voted this spring to connect their houses to a sewage system run by the Carpinteria Sanitary District, and opposition groups dropped their legal challenges last week.
Posted by oilpiers on July 30, 2008 at 7:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What exactly do they consider Rincon Beach? The beach that I hear referred to the Rincon goes from Emma Wood to the old Oil Piers. It is about 8 miles long. If different beaches in Oxnard or Ventura can have different pollution readings, then I am sure different parts of the Rincon have different levels also.
Posted by harlan on July 30, 2008 at 7:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yesterday, The Star ran an article about the property owners along the Rincon finally agreeing to quit fighting the conversion from septic tanks to a a sewer system, and today it runs run an article about high fecal pollution at Rincon Beach without ONCE revisiting the reason, much talked about in yesterday's article, that many people have fought to wean the Rincon community off of septic tanks for at least the last 10 years; septic tanks leaking their coliform contents into the surf 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
(I also noticed yesterday that the only story that didn't make it to the online version of The Star was the one about Bush leaving a $482 billion dollar deficit for the next chump to deal with. I guess they didn't even want to DREAM about having to moderate the comments on that thread. And the Big Kids at The Star wonder why they're having a few cash-flow problems......)
Posted by dse_kpa on July 30, 2008 at 10:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
'Rincon parkway' is the stretch of beach that RV'ers camp at along the road, and it starts just north of faria state beach. The 'Rincon' that is in this article is talking about is off of the Bates exit going north, past La Conchita. It's a world reknowned surf break, and many local surfers are trying to convince the homeowners to switch from septic to sewer, because of the problems associated with ocean illnesses.
Posted by oilpiers on July 30, 2008 at 12:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
dse_kpa
Thanks for the clarification. I just know after 30 years of going to the beachs north of Ventura, the whole parkway is generally referred to as the Rincon, and by some older dudes than me.Since the Article states Vta Co. I assumed they were refering to farther south than bates, since that goes into SB Co.
Posted by sunsetnsand on July 30, 2008 at 12:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My family has owned breachfront property in Mussel Shoals since 1944.
I am dissapointed the writer of this article did not identify the area he was refering to for the water testing: he obviously does not know the North Coast of Ventura County well.. or he would know that various stretches of the coastline from Carpiteria to Ventura are refered to as The Rincon, or Rincon Beach.
It is also obvious he does not know that all the communities South of Bates road are on pumped sewage systems, and have been for many many years: the Bates community is the last to finaly get this treatment in place. One must assume from this article that the water tests came from Rincon Creek, in the center of this community, or just south of the mouth of it.
The writer of this article does a great disservice to those of us that live in and love this area, that have stepped up to the plate through the years, not only paying for these type of upgrades to improve the health of this Coastline, but activly, to this day, helping to plan a healthy future for it.
Headlines and articles that are this short of factual content, insight, and well informed opinion are.. irresponsible.
Posted by dragstripgirl on July 30, 2008 at 1:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well tell all those people who come up from L.A. to over corwd our campsites and beaches to start picking up their trash, all the flipping dirty diapers they leave on the beach and dump their waste properly! People don't have respect for something they only look at a couple times a year. But these beaches are our homes.
Posted by klim on July 31, 2008 at 6:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey dragstrip girl it "crowd" first of all and second those are not your campsites they are all of our because as I last checked they are funded by my state tax dollars in LA and yours too. I agree with the trash and diaper thing though but not sure all those rvs are from LA. I am one from LA that adores that coast line you live on and unfortunately you are blaming the filthiness of man kind on LA. LA is not the problem humans are. Sorry just felt I needed to make corrections to your assertions. I thank all of you that live in the area for fighting so diligently to clean up my water off of our beaches and thank you that live on the Rincon Point for coming to your senses.
Posted by Glidemaster on August 1, 2008 at 2:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Someone should check Ventura's Surfers Point during the County Fair when all the pig/sheep/cow/horse slop gets washed untreated directly into the beach water.
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