Water advisories issued for San Diego beaches due to bacteria

Danielle Dawson
·2 min read

SAN DIEGO — New water contact advisories have been issued by health officials for San Diego County beaches.

The bacterial levels are elevated in the ocean waters all over southern San Diego County, with contamination warnings shutting down beaches from IB to Coronado, and advisories showing up from Ocean Beach all the way to La Jolla Shores.

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All of the advisories were issued due to bacteria levels that exceed health standards, according to the county.

Beachgoers are urged to stay away from the water in these areas:

  • Ocean Beach – Dog Beach

  • Tourmaline Surf Park – Pacific Beach

  • La Jolla – Whispering Sands Beach, La Jolla Cove, Avenida De Playa, Children’s Pool

  • Coronado – North Beach – Dog Beach

  • Mission Bay – Mission Point Park

All of the advisories, except the Children’s Pool, were issued between Jan. 6 and Jan. 14. No expiration has been set for the advisories.

“I just block it out,” laughed Bob Callhan, a surfer from OB. “So for me, I’m in denial about the bacterial advisory. I do have ear plugs that I always wear here now unfortunately, that’s just OB.”

This comes as San Diego County continues to grapple with the onslaught of sewage from Tijuana and a deteriorating South Bay treatment plant that has hobbled access to the region’s southernmost beaches for decades.

The County Health department has been taking measurements all over San Diego County. Without any significant rains recently, the bacteria levels did come as a surprise, especially for the northern beaches.

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Most surfers we talked to said they are just going to spend a little extra time washing out their ears and trying to keep their heads above the water.

“If it rained in the past 24 hours we won’t go. I think otherwise we assume it’s pretty clean. We’re far north enough of TJ to not have to worry about it too much. A little bit of bacteria probably won’t hurt you. It’s good to have a low-level inoculation,” said Phil Bilden, Tourmaline surfer.

The county is expected to continue testing the water on Tuesday morning. New results could come as early as Tuesday afternoon.

One warning and two closures, which differ from advisories in that they indicate the presence of sewage, remain in place along the Imperial Beach and Silver Strand shorelines.

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