Newport Earns Five-Star Rating for Water Quality

Swimmers and surfers who indulge in the waters off Newport Beach may want to know where they take a dip has been ranked among the top beaches in the country.

According to a report released Wednesday by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the beaches at 38th Street and 52nd/53rd Street earned a five-star rating from the NRDC. In addition to Newport, Bolsa Chica Beach and Huntington State Beach also received top marks based on beachwater quality, monitoring frequency and public notification of contamination.

In May, the Wedge, 52nd/53rd Street, Onyx Avenue Beach, N Street Beach and Rocky Point Beach also reached honor roll status on Heal the Bay's annual beach report card. Along with the honor roll designations, A and B grades were also given to areas at the Balboa Pier, Newport Bay, Little Corona Beach, Newport Dunes, Corona del Mar and Crystal Cove.

Overall the NRDC's 22nd annual report analyzed government data on beach-water testing from 2011 at more than 3,000 beaches nationwide. The report ranked California 21st out of 30 states in Beachwater Quality. The report found the most common reported causes of contamination came from elevated bacteria levels, preemptive closures due to sewage spills or leaks and heavy rainfall.

The report listed Doheny State and Avalon Beach on Catalina Island 
on the nationwide "Repeat Offender'' list. Water samples from these two beaches and 15 others from across the country violated public health standards more than 25 percent of the time for each year from 2007 to 2011, according to the report.

Last year, American beaches had the third-highest number of closure and advisory days in more than two decades, with California making up 25 percent of the national total. The report found that beach water nationwide in 2011 continued to suffer from contamination and pollutants from human and animal waste.

Individual states with highest violation rates of reported samples in 2011 were Louisiana, Ohio and Illinois. The lowest were found in Delaware, New Hampshire, North Carolina, New Jersey, Florida, Virginia and Hawaii.

Water quality of America's beaches has remained largely stable, with 8 percent of beach water samples nationwide violating public health standards in 2011 compared to 8 percent the previous year and 7 percent for four years prior, according to the report.

Read the full report at www.nrdc.org/beaches.

-City News Service