Swimmers warned of high bacteria level

Deepa Bharath

The Orange County Healthcare Agency posted warning signs at an

unprecedented number of local beaches on Sunday to caution the public

about high levels of bacteria in the water possibly caused by tide

patterns, officials said.

Health officials instructed Huntington and Newport lifeguards to

post the signs along the coast late Sunday morning after they got

back results of the water quality tests, said Monica Mazur,

environmental health supervising specialist with the Orange County

Healthcare Agency.

“We don’t know exactly what caused the increase in the bacteria

levels in the ocean,” she said.

But the recent extremes in high and low tides could have possibly

caused the pollution, Mazur said.

“The low tides in particular pull out waste matter from the

Talbert Channel or the Santa Ana River,” she said.

The signs have been posted all the way from 500 feet north of

Magnolia Street in Huntington Beach through the mouth of the Santa

Ana River to 500 feet south of the Balboa Pier.

The Orange County Sanitation District will continue to draw water

samples from the beaches five days week for testing, as they normally

do, Mazur said.

“Till the level of bacteria goes down to an acceptable level, the

signs will remain on the beaches,” she said.

The signs warn the public that there could be bacteria in the

ocean that could cause gastrointestinal or respiratory diseases or

other infections, Mazur said. Acceptable levels of bacteria are

determined by state standards.

“We don’t know how dangerous these high levels could be,” she

said. “We provide the public with the information. People can make

their own decisions.”

As of Wednesday, signs were still posted at Huntington State

Beach.

Newport Beach Lifeguard Lt. Boyd Mickley said he does not believe

the water is “dangerously polluted.”

“Before the change in laws that required these signs to be posted,

I grew up swimming in water which was probably worse,” he said.

Lifeguards made and put up close to 200 signs along the beach on

Sunday, Mickley said.

Such postings are quite common, Mazur said.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts for Times

Community News. She may be reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at

deepa.bharath@latimes.com.