Bolsa Chica State Beach: Bolsa Chica Reserve
Tested by Orange County, usually every 7 days.
Taken 24 days ago. Results can take 1 to 3 weeks to be published, and many sites are tested less often in winter.
Every bacteria in this test: Fecal coliform 17 · Total coliform 17 · Enterococcus 20. The grade follows the worst one against its own limit.
Grade A over 5 tests from Sep 22, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026. None were over the limit.
The latest test passed
Stay out for 72 hours after any rain of 0.2 in or more, when runoff raises bacteria everywhere along the coast.
County status: Advisory, checked Friday, Nov 13 (Orange County Health Care Agency). The county’s posting is the final word.
Enterococcus over time
- Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026Fecal coliform 17 · Total coliform 17 · Enterococcus 20
- Wednesday, Oct 14, 2026Fecal coliform 33 · Total coliform 100 · Enterococcus 20.46 in of rain in the 3 days before
- Tuesday, Oct 6, 2026Fecal coliform under 0 · Total coliform under 0 · Enterococcus 2
- Tuesday, Sep 29, 2026Fecal coliform under 0 · Total coliform under 0 · Enterococcus 12
- Tuesday, Sep 22, 2026Fecal coliform under 0 · Total coliform 17 · Enterococcus 18
- Tuesday, Sep 15, 2026Fecal coliform under 0 · Total coliform under 0 · Enterococcus 154
- Tuesday, Sep 8, 2026Fecal coliform 1,100 · Total coliform 4,000 · Enterococcus 340.63 in of rain in the 3 days before
- Tuesday, Sep 1, 2026Fecal coliform 33 · Total coliform 17 · Enterococcus 38
- Tuesday, Aug 25, 2026Fecal coliform under 0 · Total coliform under 0 · Enterococcus 8
- Tuesday, Aug 18, 2026Fecal coliform 17 · Total coliform under 0 · Enterococcus under 0
Enterococcus and coliform bacteria live in the guts of people and animals. Health departments test for them because they travel with sewage, runoff and animal waste, so a high count is a warning that germs that do make people sick are likely in the water too. Clear water can still be contaminated: bacteria and viruses are too small to see.
San Diego County's DNA test (ddPCR) counts bacterial DNA instead of growing the bacteria in a lab, so it returns results the same day. Its numbers run higher than the older lab tests, which is why its safe limit is 1,413 rather than 104. The two are never compared on this page.
San Diego County's health department says swimming in water under an advisory can cause stomach illness, such as diarrhea and vomiting, and skin and ear infections. The EPA's national swimming guidelines are set at a level where about 32 to 36 of every 1,000 swimmers would get a stomach illness. A study of San Diego surfers found about 12 extra stomach-illness cases per 1,000 in wet weather, highest during rain and the day after, and back near normal 3 days later.
The grade is Nautical Nick's, built on the official limits: A is a quarter of the limit or less, B half or less, C under the limit, D over it, and F more than 10 times over. When a county posts an advisory or closes a beach, its sign is the final word.
Sources: California State Water Board beach test results; San Diego County Department of Environmental Health sample reports; Surfrider Foundation Blue Water Task Force; National Weather Service daily rain totals via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet (Fullerton Municipal, Long Beach Airport, Santa Ana/Jon-Wayne). Limits: California Code of Regulations, Title 17, Section 7958.