Here are L.A.’s Cleanest—and Dirtiest—Beaches, Graded by Heal the Bay   

[dropcap size=big]I[/dropcap]n what is already proving to be a long, drawn-out pandemic summer, beaches in Los Angeles County will once again be closed over the July 4th weekend. The safety of the city is deemed too difficult to maintain on crowded beach weekends, and we may be dealing with closed beaches all summer. Despite the fact that when properly maintained, our city's beaches can be one of the few respites from the heat and isolation caused by social distancing.

However, if and when we are ever allowed to play that game where scamper away from the breaking waves again, what beach has the cleanest saltwater? Heal the Bay released their annual report card for our county's beaches, letting us know where the water is safe and where it may have more issues. Most of the worst beach water pollution comes when it rains. A beach can easily go from an A rating to an F after a rainstorm, as our storm drains and creeks empty right into the ocean. The grades below are for beaches during dry summer days.

The county has 29 beaches with A+ grades, including popular spots such as Santa Monica beach at Strand Street, and Venice Beach at Topsail Street. The lowest grade for the Summer months is the F given to both Cabrillo Beach and Topanga Beach in front of the creek mouth. Other popular locations with poor grades this summer include Long Beach City Beach, at Granada Avenue, and Paradise Cove Pier at Ramirez Canyon Creek.

The full list of beach grades, in alphabetical order, are below. Some beaches did not receive a letter grade for this season, but all of them have good winter grades so they are likely cleaner than average. You can dig into the full report card of beaches statewide on the Heal the Bay website, where they also discuss COVID-19’s impact on beach water quality as visitorship increases in the summer months.