Clean Cowells
A cherished Santa Cruz beach and premiere longboard break, Cowells, faces longstanding water quality issues.
But Save The Waves is determined to remove Cowells from California’s infamous “Beach Bummers” list. Our commitment to address the issue has led to the formation of the Cowells Working Group in partnership with the City of Santa Cruz. Major improvements have been made and Cowells has since been removed from the Top Ten list altogether after years of hard work, trial and error, and dedicated scientific research.
Overview
Cowell Beach is nestled at the heart of the City of Santa Cruz’ Coastline and is a cherished natural resource for its residents and thousands of annual visitors. One of the world’s premier longboard surf breaks, and a designated World Surfing Reserve, Cowell Beach is rich in cultural, historical and economic value.
In recent years, however, it had previously taken on the dubious distinction of being the “dirtiest beach” in California, according to a series of water quality reports by Heal the Bay.
Like many of California’s urban beaches, Cowell Beach’s water quality has been compromised by high bacteria counts (fecal coliform and enterococcus) for many years, consistently landing it on Heal the Bay’s “Beach Bummer” list in recent years.
Heal the Bay’s annual scorecard report, which reviews beach water quality up and down the California coastline, had assigned Cowell Beach the most polluted beach in California for 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Cowells Makes it off the list!
Learn About the Working Group
CAMPAIGN UPDATES
Cowell Beach Drops Off Beach Bummer List
For the first time in 10 years, Cowells was not included on the annual “Beach Bummer” list – showing major improvement for the Santa Cruz beach.
Cowell’s Beach Sees Continued Reduction in Bacteria Counts Despite Listing by Heal The Bay
Cowell’s Beach once again finds itself on Heal the Bay’s ‘Beach Bummer’ list, but experts in the Cowell’s Working Group have noted a long-term reduction in overall exceedances of state water quality standards and concentrations of bacteria.
Cowell Beach Water Quality Improvement Recognized by Heal the Bay Report
Save The Waves is pleased to announce that Cowell Beach has dropped to number eight on Heal the Bay’s annual “Beach Bummer” list, after nine consecutive years as number one or two, and moving to number three in 2017.
More Info & Resources
NEWS & ARTICLES
Cowell Beach might be dropped from ‘Beach Bummer’ list next year – Santa Cruz Sentinel, November 2018
Santa Cruz beach maintains ‘F’ grade, shows contamination improvement – Santa Cruz Sentinel, June 2018
Dirtiest No More: Santa Cruz’s Cowell Beach Now Ranked No.3 Most Contaminated In State – Santa Cruz Sentinel, June 2017
Cowell Water Quality Reports
View and explore the most up-to-date reports from Surfrider Santa Cruz Blue Water Task Force and Santa Cruz County.
Please note: Surfrider SC recently stopped taking samples at Cowells due to COVID-19.
Heal The Bay Report Cards
CWG seeks to eliminate all human-derived sources of bacteria capable of causing human illness and reduce naturally occurring sources of bacteria to the maximum extent practicable.
Goals:
- Reduce bacteria counts at Cowell Beach through policy and stewardship actions
- Increase public understanding of Cowell Beach issue
- Improve scientific understanding of Cowell Beach issue
Accomplishments:
- Created new monitoring location
- Implemented new testing, data sharing, and conclusions
- Increased public outreach and communication
- Installed infrastructure that has led to improved water quality
Findings:
- Cowell Beach bacteria are likely their highest under the wharf, and they tend to get significantly lower as one travels along the beach away from the wharf in either direction (East or West).
- Cowell Beach bacteria along the wharf are significantly lower after only the first couple of hundred feet where the birds do not roost and nest.
- There were no sewage-associated bacteria detected in any of the 25 samples taken along the wharf, as indicated by caffeine measurements taken during the study to establish the distribution of bacteria along the wharf.
- DNA analyses of the bacteria along Cowell Beach indicate they are not from domestic sources and are not associated with human health risks
2020 Objectives
- Continue Group Facilitation and Project Management
- Conduct epidemiological study to understand public health risk
- Ensure adequate signage to enhance public understanding
- Maintain sewer inspections and upgrades, produce lateral ordinance recommendations