There's one good thing about San Diego drifting back to drought-like conditions — the beaches are healthier, according to a report released this week by an environmental group.
In the annual Beach Report Card released Tuesday, all 69 beaches in San Diego County monitored by Heal the Bay all earned passing grades during the busy summer season.
Sixty-eight of the beaches earned a grade of A or above and one beach, Bayside Park, earned a B grade, according to the report.
The report is based on levels of weekly bacterial pollution measured by county health agencies.
Carlsbad, San Elijo State Park and Oceanside beaches were on Heal the Bay Honor Roll this year, meaning they scored a perfect A-plus grades year round.
La Jolla Cove, last year's entry on the group's Beach Bummer List, a list of the most polluted beaches in the state, received an A grade for the summer dry season.
"A day at the beach shouldn't make anyone sick," Heal the Bay president Shelley Luce said. "We are glad to see water quality improving, but there are no guarantees."
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Despite the good news, Heal the Bay remain concerned about the long-term prognosis of the beach-water quality. Because of the state's boom-and-bust rain cycles, the next big storms could wash billions of gallons of bacteria-laden runoff onto the shoreline, the group said.
During wet weather last year, only 26 beaches in San Diego County received a B grade or above, dropping the five-year average down to 69 percent of beaches receiving an A or B grade, according to the report.
Twelve beaches received a C grade or below, according to the report.
