Los Angeles Beaches Among State’s Best and Worst for Water Pollution.
Heal the Bay, a local environmental nonprofit group for clean water, released its annual California Beach Report Card in June.
The list measures water pollution at beaches around the state, tracking progress over time and also looking at pre- and post-drought conditions.
The Santa Monica Pier area and Marina del Rey’s Mother’s Beach both received “D” grades on the report card, as the sixth- and ninth-dirtiest beaches, respectively.
Four beaches received “F’ grades, including the San Clemente Pier in Orange County.
The news wasn’t all bad for LA, however.
Four more county beaches also managed to receive “A+” grades.
In Malibu, El Matador State Beach and Malibu Point were included on the list’s honor roll.
Palos Verdes Estates’ Bluff Cove and Rancho Palos Verdes’s Portuguese Bend Cove also received high marks.
Summer dry weather (April through October) scores have been trending upward in LA County from 2011 to 2016, as 93 percent of Los Angeles beaches received an “A” score this time around — much higher than the average of 76 percent over the entire time frame.

In the face of the Southern California’s semi-arid Mediterranean climate, compounded by several years of drought throughout the state, the region has developed local resilience through state-of-the-art groundwater management.
Paving the way for a more resilient water system, authorities in northern and central Orange County have partnered to develop imaginative approaches to reducing dependence on imported water.
There are two key features of OCWD’s multifaceted strategy to efficiently use every drop: wastewater reuse and groundwater basin governance.
Wastewater reuse Boasting the largest planned indirect potable reuse system in the world, OCWD’s Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) captures and reuses recycled water that has been treated to exceed federal and state drinking water standards.
The Orange Country Sanitation District (OCSD) served as a key partner in helping Orange County fund the System instead of building a second ocean disposal pipeline.
Groundwater basin governance The creative case of pursuing water sustainability in Orange County may serve as an example of an integrated water paradigm that presents tools and guidance to other urban centers, particularly including cities in developing countries.
OCWD’s focus on groundwater basin governance through a diversified recharge strategy not only protects the quality of water in the aquifer from seawater intrusion, but also increases the storage capacity of the basin over time.
Orange County is sharing successful strategies, technologies, and approaches to water resilience with developing countries through the Water Scarce Cities Initiative.
WSC is documenting cases, such as that of Orange County, and sharing the successes and challenges of with cities in water scarce regions in the global South.
[1] Refers to projects that will use reclaimed wastewater and inject it, through wells drilled along the coastline, to create an underground barrier against seawater intrusion into the fresh groundwater aquifer.

Orange County Remains In Moderate Drought, NWS Says.
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA — What a difference a few months make.
In September of 2016, the start of the water year, the National Weather Service said that the majority of California was in moderate to exceptional drought conditions.
Orange County, at that time, was listed from intensity ranging from Extreme Drought to Exceptional Drought.
Five months later, after one of the rainiest winters on record, the new drought monitor was released.
"With the recent heavy rains, Orange County remains classified in Moderate Drought," the NWS said.
Most of Riverside and San Diego counties were downgraded from Moderate Drought to Abnormally Dry, a substantial difference.
According to rainfall totals from the National Weather Service, a few notable totals in Orange County included Santa Ana, with just less than 16 inches of rain, and Fullerton, with just more than 16 inches of rain, both hovering at 159 percent of normal.
Anaheim, not far away, has received rainfall totaling 21.5-inches, hovering at 216 percent of normal.
"It has been a very wet rainy season in Southern California so far, with many stations receiving more than 150% of their normal precipitation through the end of February for the current ‘water year,’" The National Weather service reported.