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An annual report about water quality and beach closures around the nation finds that locally we have a couple of outstanding beaches and a couple that are persistently polluted "repeat offenders."
The Natural Resources Defense Council's (NRDC) "Testing the Waters" report found that things aren't so terrific at our shores around the nation: They "found that the number of beach closing and advisory days in 2011 reached the third-highest level in the 22-year history of [their] report, totaling 23,481 days (a 3% decrease from 2010)."
How did we fare locally? The L.A. Times points out some lows and highs:
Two Southern California beaches made the report's list of 15 "repeat offenders" because of their persistent pollution problems: Avalon Beach on Catalina Island and Doheny State Beach in Dana Point. Three earned a spot on the nation's one dozen "5 star" beaches with outstanding water quality: Newport Beach, Bolsa Chica State Beach and Huntington State Beach.
California ranked 21st out of 30 states when it comes to overall beachwater quality.