This year the Surfrider SLO Chapter Blue Water Task for has been spotlighted in the news a few times to cover our volunteer-led water testing program. Recently, KSBY ran this 'Whose waste is in the creek?' story:
Earlier this year, Surfrider SLO made national news as part of Surfrider's 2023 Clean Water Report. The report highlighted San Luis Creek Mouth as a 'Priority Blue Water Task Force Beach' where water quality conditions could be putting public health at risk. Here's the coverage from KSBY:
For years, the San Luis Obispo BWTF team has detected high levels of enterococcus bacteria at key recreational areas, including at the mouth of SLO Creek where it discharges into the Pacific Ocean at Avila Beach, and in the creek and estuary/lagoon that flows into Pismo Beach. The high bacteria counts at these beaches could be posing a significant risk to human health as they are used widely by families with small children. As described in the first video above, the San Luis Obispo Chapter has initiated an investigation using DNA analysis to identify the species contributing to the fecal pollution problems, i.e. human, dog, cow, birds, etc. While this source tracking study is underway the chapter is building awareness of the contamination issues in their community so their results will be able to drive solutions. Stay tuned for updates and if you are local to the area view all their weekly Blue Water Task Force test results here.