Surf Report for Los Angeles California
(00:00:00) Surf Report for Los Angeles California - Friday - 22 May 2026 (00:00:47) Honor Roll Collapse Statewide (00:01:20) Post-Rain 72-Hour Rule (00:01:53) Bluff Cove — LA's Cleanest Break (00:02:12) Summer Window and What's Next Before you load the board and head to the beach this Memorial Day weekend, there's critical water quality news every LA surfer needs to hear. Heal the Bay just released its annual Beach Report Card, and Santa Monica Pier has earned an F grade for the fifth consecutive year — ranking it the second most polluted beach in all of California. This isn't a post-storm anomaly. Chronic storm drain and aging sewer infrastructure means bacterial pollution persists even in dry conditions. No fix is coming before the holiday weekend. The statewide picture is equally sobering. California's beach honor roll collapsed from 62 beaches last year to just 21 this year, driven almost entirely by heavy winter rainfall and urban runoff. Ninety-one percent of beaches showed degraded water quality during the wet season — a stark contrast to the 91% that earn safe grades in dry summer months. For every LA break right now, the practical rule is firm: wait 72 hours after any rainfall before entering the water. This applies to Venice Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Malibu. The closer you are to a pier or storm drain outlet, the longer you should wait. The one bright spot in LA County: Bluff Cove in Palos Verdes Estates earned A-plus grades across every monitoring period and is the only LA County beach on the statewide honor roll. Worth the drive if clean water is your priority. The dry season window — April through October — will bring significant improvement as runoff slows. Until then, download the Heal the Bay Beach Report Card app for real-time grades by location before every session. This episode includes AI-generated content.
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