City News

The City of Huntington Beach & California State Parks announce the reopening of both City & State beaches in Huntington Beach as of Monday, October 11, 2021 at 6:00 a.m. The joint decision to reopen comes after coastal ocean & wetlands water quality testing results showed non-detectable amounts of oil associated toxins in our ocean water.

As an additional safety measure, the City of Huntington Beach hired an independent contractor to provide ocean & wetlands water quality testing. The contractor tested 40 different sites along the Huntington Beach coast & wetlands from the Santa Ana River Jetty through Sunset Beach. All samples were tested for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) & Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) as a way to determine the levels of oil present in the ocean. The testing results for all but one of the 40 tested locations came back with a non-detectable amount of PAH and TPH. The only location where oil was detected was a non-toxic level located in the water just north of Warner Avenue.

“The health & safety of our residents & visitors is of the utmost importance. We understand the significance our beaches have on tourism, our economy, & our overall livelihood here in Huntington Beach,” said Huntington Beach Mayor, Kim Carr. “It is important that our decision to reopen our shoreline & water be based on data & that we continue to monitor the water quality going forward.”

Moving ahead, water quality testing will continue twice a week for at least the next two weeks, & those test results will also be published to the City’s oil spill webpage along with the current report.

Beachgoers are advised to avoid areas where an oil smell is present. Further, we expect to see oiled materials & tar balls wash up on the beach, & individuals are advised not to handle or ingest any oil materials. If you do see oil or tar balls on the beach, please contact beach clean-up teams at [email protected].