By Lookout Staff

May 16, 2025 -- The Santa Monica Pier remained under a beach area warning Friday with visitors advised to "avoid swimming, surfing and playing in ocean waters," County Health officials said.

The Pier area water, which is routinely placed under a warning due to high levels of bacteria, was briefly cleared on Saturday before returning to the list on Wednesday.

The Public Health advisory issued covers the area extending 100 yards on either side of the Pier as well as a similar stretch just south around the Pico-Kenter storm drain, County Health officials said.

Sites are considered potentially unsafe if the concentration of bacteria exceeds the level at which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates 32 out of 1,000 swimmers will get sick from the water.

The Pier was named one of the most polluted beaches on the West Coast in Heal the Bay's 2023-24 Beach Report Card ("Santa Monica Pier 3rd Most Polluted West Coast Beach," July 18, 2024).

Of the more than 700 beaches graded -- from Washington to Baja California -- only two beaches suffering from sewage-contaminated runoff in Mexico's Tijuana region received worst grades than the Pier.

The water quality near the pier suffers from debris from large crowds, fecal matter from birds and its proximity to the Pico Kentor storm drain, which receives runoff that carries bacteria.

The high levels of bacteria persist despite more than $100 million spent by the City over the last five years to protect Santa Monica Bay and improve beach water quality.

City officials note that the Pier water represents only 5 percent of Santa Monica beach, which consistently receives high grades for water quality ("Water Quality Under Pier Gives Santa Monica Beaches a Bum Rap, City Officials Say," August 21, 2023).