A big wave from Heal the Bay! Santa Monica roots run deep at Heal the Bay — we started here in 1985, operate the Aquarium below the Pier, and have contributed to numerous policy and water quality improvement projects in the City. Today, nearing our 40th anniversary, we continue to have close ties to Santa Monica, but our impact extends throughout LA County as well as the State.
We are extremely grateful to the Santa Monica Daily Press for encouraging this new biweekly Heal the Bay Current column. Our goal is to provide news and updates from across our organization about events and issues in line with our dedication to protecting the coastal watersheds and inland waterways of greater Los Angeles.
Perhaps you are a visitor to the Heal the Bay Aquarium, located under the historic and iconic Santa Monica Pier. Or maybe you’ve joined us to help remove trash, plastic, and cigarette butts at one of our Beach (or inland River) cleanup events. Hopefully, you check our Beach & River Report Card before heading out to your favorite water recreation area. Our goal is to keep you updated on science, public health, and policy issues while providing a wealth of opportunities to get involved and have some fun along the way.
Our staff and volunteers are also surfers, scuba drivers, beach-goers, and swimmers just like you! Our passion is interlinked with our dedication to making the coastal waters and watersheds of Greater Los Angeles safe, healthy, and clean and thus, our motto, "Protect What You Love."
Heal the Bay’s scientists, educators, environmental advocates, and community outreach teams are focused on the impacts of pollution and climate change, safeguarding the biodiversity of our local aquatic habitats, and protecting public health. A good example of this is that we regularly provide water quality information to the public and highlight when water quality suffers and the public should take extra precaution, such as after a rain.
Avoid swimming after it rains
This past weekend brought some rain and that means our storm drain system flushed the runoff water to the ocean, picking up any and all trash, chemicals, and toxins on our streets, sending it completely untreated into the ocean. Post-rain polluted waters tend to have poor water quality due to an increase in bacterial pollution. People who come in contact with recreational waters identified with poor water quality are at greater risk of contracting illnesses such as stomach flu, ear infections, upper respiratory infections, and rashes. That’s why, Heal the Bay and public health officials recommend waiting to recreate in the ocean for at least 72 hours after it rains.
Swimmers choosing to ignore these warnings should, at least (and always), avoid entering waters within 100 yards on either side of the nearest storm drain outlet because no one should get sick from a day at the beach. And rain or shine, it is always a good idea to visit beachreportcard.com to check the water quality of your swimming spot before you go (note that after a significant rain, our Beach Report Card will show a rain advisory for 72 hours). During the summer months, you can also check out water quality grades for LA’s county’s freshwater recreation spots.
Huge thanks to Saturday’s clean up volunteers at Zuma
Thank you to the more than 160 volunteers who showed up on Saturday for our monthly "Nothin’ But Sand" cleanup and removed 182 pounds of trash from Zuma Beach. It is interesting to note that most of the litter removed from our beaches was most likely not from careless beach goers but rather flowed in from miles away through our storm drains. So, removing trash during, or right after, a rain is of particular importance. Cleanups are the last line of defense to keep the worst kinds of pollutants out of our waterways. Heal the Bay’s "Nothin But Sand" cleanups occur on the third Saturday of every month. Learn more at healthebay.org/events
DDT – A legacy of contamination off our coast
An ongoing concern to ocean health is DDT, a legacy pesticide, that is known to have devastating and long-lasting impacts on wildlife, ecosystems, and human health. DDT was the first of the modern synthetic insecticides used in the 1940s and after it was found to contaminate entire ecosystems beyond its intended target, its use was banned in 1972.
But contamination from DDT persists and the coast off of Southern California is home to some of the largest known sites of DDT contamination. Heal the Bay scientists and partner researchers have been working for years to obtain funding and knowledge about the deleterious effects of DDT on our water, our marine life and what, if anything, can be done about it.
California deep ocean DDT community Zoom meeting Jan 24, 4-6PM
While the impacts of near-shore DDT on the Palos Verdes Shelf have been well-studied, little is known about the status and impacts of DDT dumped in Southern California deep-ocean. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the California State Water Resources Control Board are funding over $15M of research to provide a greater understanding of the human health and ecological risks due to deep-ocean DDT deposits in Southern California.
Please join us online at a community meeting to meet DDT scientists and discuss their latest findings on deep-ocean DDT: Where is it, and how is it affecting humans and wildlife? Register for the Zoom meeting here.
