Crystal Cove at El Moro Beach
Tested by Orange County, usually every 13 days.
Taken 23 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 under 0 · Total coliform under 0 · Enterococcus under 0. The grade follows the worst one against its own limit.
Grade A over 4 tests from Sep 23, 2026 to Oct 21, 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
- Wednesday, Oct 21, 2026Fecal coliform under 0 · Total coliform under 0 · Enterococcus under 0
- Tuesday, Oct 13, 2026Fecal coliform under 0 · Total coliform under 0 · Enterococcus 20.69 in of rain in the 3 days before
- Wednesday, Sep 30, 2026Fecal coliform under 0 · Total coliform under 0 · Enterococcus 4
- Wednesday, Sep 23, 2026Fecal coliform 17 · Total coliform under 0 · Enterococcus under 0
- Wednesday, Sep 16, 2026Fecal coliform 17 · Total coliform under 0 · Enterococcus 6
- Wednesday, Sep 9, 2026Fecal coliform under 0 · Total coliform 33 · Enterococcus 40.31 in of rain in the 3 days before
- Wednesday, Jul 29, 2026Fecal coliform under 0 · Total coliform under 0 · Enterococcus under 0
- Wednesday, Jul 1, 2026Fecal coliform under 0 · Total coliform 67 · Enterococcus 12
- Tuesday, Jun 16, 2026Fecal coliform under 0 · Total coliform under 0 · Enterococcus 4
- Wednesday, Apr 22, 2026Fecal coliform under 0 · Total coliform 17 · Enterococcus 8
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 (Santa Ana/Jon-Wayne). Limits: California Code of Regulations, Title 17, Section 7958.