LINK. To the State of California Water Quality Monitoring Program’s “My Water Quality” webpage.
Beach water quality monitoring and strong pollution prevention measures are critical for protecting beach goers from waterborne diseases.
Monitoring is performed by city and county health agencies, publicly owned sewage treatment plants, other dischargers, environmental groups and numerous citizen-monitoring groups.
Covid-19 and Water Recreation
- Water Transmission and COVID-19-Drinking Water, Recreational Water and Wastewater: What You Need to Know (CDC)
- COVID-19 and Beach Water Quality: Updates from the Research Community (Surfrider)
Safe to Swim Map (Beta)
The Safe to Swim map displays bacterial sampling data for coastal and inland monitoring locations over time. The map compares the sampling data and six-week geometric me
an to the statewide bacteria water quality objectives for E. coli and enterococci.
Coastal Information Map
The Swimming Safety Information map provides information on coastal beach advisories, coastal beach report card grades, impaired waters for swimming, and beach improvement projects by county. The map graphs bacterial sampling data for coastal monitoring locations and compares the data and 30-day geometric mean to the bacterial water quality objectives specified in the California Ocean Plan.
California Swim Guide Map
The California Swim Guide is a regional snapshot of the work and information collected and displayed by Canada’s Swim Guide program. Swim Guide is a website and smartphone app for iPhone® and Android.
It helps you easily find your closest beaches, know at a glance which ones are safe for swimming, and share your love of beaches with friends and family.
Swim Guide delivers free real-time water quality information for over 7,000 beaches, lakes, rivers, and swimming holes in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the Bahamas, Ireland, France, Denmark, New Zealand, Australia, and Kenya. Swim Guide is available in English, French, and Spanish.
Created and managed by Swim Drink Fish Canada (formerly Lake Ontario Waterkeeper), Swim Guide can be used by any public interest club, organization, or agency to share beach information with the public.
The data collected and displayed by the Swim Guide is of varying quality and should only be used as an information tool and not for regulatory or enforcement purposes.
Questions Answered
- Can I swim at my coastal beach?
- What are the current swimming advisories for my coastal beach?
- How do harmful algal blooms affect swimming safety?
- What are the long-term trends of bacteria at my coastal beach?
- Which beaches, lakes, and streams are listed by the State as impaired for swimming?
- How are we improving swimming safety?