SLO County Ocean Water Quality Testing Update

Hey guys I have a water quality monitoring update for you all. For the last year I've been keeping up with the local Surfrider folks as they work towards improving water quality monitoring in the county. We recently had a small victory in that the county now shows the actual numbers from their testing as opposed to just pass/fail. When you go to the SLO County Ocean Water Monitoring Results Page you can click on various testing sites and get detailed information on water testing results.

Below I've included the test site at Avila Beach between the creek mouth and the pier. Can you spot the rain storm?



And this is why we call off swims when it rains after long dry periods!

Unfortunately as you can see the County only tests on Mondays, sometimes Tuesdays which doesn't do us a whole lot of good since we swim during the weekend. The SLO Surfrider chapter is working on setting up a lab in Avila where they can do their own testing to supplement what the County is already doing. It's not up and running yet but it sounds like they're almost there. If any of you would be interested in being sample takers let me know and I'll connect you with the Surfrider crew. Once everything is in place it'll give us some extra data that we can use to continue to make sure the water we're swimming in is clean and safe. I'll keep you guys updated as things progress.

Rob D.