Surfer's Point at Seaside

Source Information

Ventura County Environmental Health Division samples beaches along the 68 km (42 miles) of the Ventura Coast. All beaches are sampled from April - October. A smaller number of beaches are sampled from November - March. Beaches are tested weekly for total coliform, fecal coliform, and enterococcus. If a sample fails to meet water quality standards, then the beach is re-tested. If the second sample also fails, then the beach is posted. During the wet season, a beach is posted if it fails the first test. There is no re-sampling in the wet season. The results are posted on the VCEHD website, which Swim Guide checks daily for the latest information. A beach is marked Green when bacteria levels for a single day and geometric mean fail to meet State of California water quality standards. A beach is marked Red when bacteria levels for a single day or the geometric mean fail to meet State of California water quality A beach is marked Grey when there is no current or reliable monitoring information available. The specific standards for bacteria are as follows: Single sample maximums: Total Coliform> 10,000 MPN (Most Probable Number) / 100 ml of water; or Fecal Coliform> 400 MPN / 100 ml; or Total coliform bacteria> 1,000 per 100 milliliters, if the ratio of fecal/total coliform bacteria exceeds 0.1; or Enterococcus bacteria> 104 per 100 milliliters. Geometric Mean (5 samples collected over a 30 day period): Total Coliform > 1,000 MPN / 100 ml of water; or Fecal Coliform > 200 MPN / 100 ml; or Enterococcus > 35 MPN / 100 ml