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New report card grades cleanest, dirtiest beaches

Fifteen local beaches make honor roll for perfect water quality while the Tijuana Slough ranked among the dirtiest.

SAN DIEGO — A new report card is grading California's dirtiest and cleanest beaches. Fifteen local beaches made the honor roll and one was on the bummer list.

The organization, Heal the Bay, released its annual beach report card Wednesday. Beaches with a 'C' grade or lower pose a greater risk of getting you sick. 

Extremely dirty beaches receive an 'F' Tijuana Slough was ranked among the most polluted in the region.

"That means they experienced a lot of poor water quality and by water quality we mean fecal pollution," said Luke Ginger, a water quality scientist at Heal the Bay. 

He said infrastructure issues cause millions of gallons of sewage to enter the Tijuana River and eventually travel into the Pacific Ocean.

"The United States Federal Government is beginning to invest some more money into correcting this issue so we're optimistic it will improve," he said.

San Diego County honor roll beaches:

  • Del Mar, at 15th Street San Diego 
  • Carlsbad, at Tamarack Ave. San Diego 
  • Carlsbad, at Poinsettia Lane San Diego 
  • Carlsbad, at Encina Creek San Diego 
  • Carlsbad, at Palomar Airport Rd. San Diego 
  • Carlsbad, at Cerezo Drive San Diego 
  • Oceanside, at Forster Street San Diego 
  • Oceanside, Harbor Beach at Harbor Drive San Diego 
  • Point Loma, Lighthouse San Diego 
  • Point Loma, Point Loma Treatment Plant San Diego 
  • Sunset Cliffs, at Ladera Street San Diego 
  • Mission Beach, Belmont Park San Diego 
  • La Jolla Shores Beach, 1000 ft. south of Scripps Pier San Diego 
  • La Jolla Shores Beach, 250 feet south of Scripps Pier San Diego 
  • La Jolla Shores Beach, 500 feet north of Scripps Pier San Diego 

"The best beach that I've been to is Carlsbad. They have a pier there with the fish and everything. The water is truly blue there and I think it makes the fish happier," said Darius Crowder, visiting from North Carolina.

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