Kelp is to blame for the coast's low marks for water quality, say county health officials.
The vast fields of seaweed concentrated offshore of Santa Cruz County, while not new, are being tied to last year's spike in water contamination at popular beaches including Capitola Beach and Cowell Beach in Santa Cruz.
The two beaches ranked poorly in a nationwide survey of water quality released this week by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Last time I surfed the Hook I got a killer ear infection.
But the water looked so clear and the otters were playing in the kelp! Anyone else get infections from the water in SC this summer?
I think this is a load. Yeah, blame the kelp. Take a look at the data and where the spikes in coliform occur. The wharf and S Lorenzo river. Location of pump stations and urban runoff. SCruz better clean up it's act or kiss its summer economy goodbye. Data here at bottom of page.
http://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/eh/environmental_water_quality/cur...
