Heal the Bay reveals California's dirtiest beaches, with Santa Monica Pier at No. 2
The environmental nonprofit Heal the Bay released its annual Beach Report Card on Thursday and for the fourth year in a row, the beach at the Santa Monica Pier has made the beach bummer list -- this year as the second most polluted beach in California.
The organization's Beach Report Card ranks the most polluted and cleanest beaches in the state based on water quality tests from April 2024 to March 2025, evaluating harmful bacteria levels.
Annelisa Moe, Heal the Bay's Associate Director of Science & Policy, Water Quality said letter grades of A to F are assigned based on levels of fecal bacteria found in ocean water.
"Fecal bacteria is an indicator of the risk of getting an acute illness like an ear infection or a gastrointestinal issue," she said.
Heal the Bay is calling on the city of Santa Monica to do more to improve water quality at the pier. During a Thursday news conference at the pier, Tracy Quinn, CEO of Heal the Bay said the city must take a leadership role through funding, coordination and swift action.
"We can't stand on this beach that will be crowded with happy families this holiday weekend and not acknowledge our deep concern with the lack of progress in improving the water quality here," Quinn said.
"We acknowledge the efforts already made by the city of Santa Monica and LA County, including sand replacement, trash abatement, stormwater capture projects and the placement of bird netting, that has unfortunately already fallen into disrepair. But these efforts have not been enough."
The organization wrote on its "Beach Bummers" list that urban runoff and high levels of activities at the pier contribute to contamination.
Quinn said there should be increased water-quality monitoring, bacteria source identification, and a dedicated task force to chart a path forward.
"Together we can restore the public confidence in this beloved beach as our region prepares to be on the world stage in the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, clean water at the Santa Monica Pier must be a shared priority, and we need to start now," Quinn said.
The 10 most polluted beaches tested in summer dry weather:
- Playa Blanca (Baja California)
- Santa Monica Pier (Los Angeles County)
- Tijuana Slough at Tijuana River Mouth (San Diego County)
- Chicken Ranch Beach at Channel (Marin County)
- Linda Mar Beach at San Pedro Creek (San Mateo County)
- Erckenbrack Park, Foster City (San Mateo County)
- Tijuana Slough, North of Tijuana River (San Diego County)
- Border Field State Park at Monument Rd. (San Diego County)
- Imperial Beach at Seacoast Dr. (San Diego County
- Pillar Point Harbor Beach (San Mateo County)
Orange County topped the best beach "Honor Roll" for a second consecutive year, with 34 beaches earning top water quality rankings.
Los Angeles County has seven beaches on this year's Honor Roll. Most of these top-performing beaches are along the Palos Verdes Peninsula or Malibu.
It was also noted that tests for this report were prior to the January wildfires and do not reflect heavy metals and other fire-related contaminants that entered waters after the January wildfires.
