Dana Point Harbor: North Beach - Downcoast
Tested by Orange County, usually every 8 days.
Taken 212 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 100 · Total coliform under 100 · Enterococcus under 10. The grade follows the worst one against its own limit.
Grade A over 2 tests from Mar 18, 2026 to Apr 15, 2026. None were over the limit.
No recent test
The last test here was 212 days ago, too long ago to say anything about the water today. Some sites are tested only in summer. Stay out for 72 hours after any rain of 0.2 in or more, and check the county's status before going in.
County status: Advisory, checked Friday, Nov 13 (Orange County Health Care Agency). The county’s posting is the final word.
Enterococcus over time
- Wednesday, Apr 15, 2026Fecal coliform under 100 · Total coliform under 100 · Enterococcus under 100.31 in of rain in the 3 days before
- Wednesday, Mar 18, 2026Fecal coliform 20 · Total coliform 40 · Enterococcus 24
- Tuesday, Mar 10, 2026Fecal coliform under 20 · Total coliform 20 · Enterococcus 10
- Tuesday, Mar 3, 2026Fecal coliform under 20 · Total coliform under 20 · Enterococcus 10
- Monday, Feb 23, 2026Fecal coliform 900 · Total coliform 14,000 · Enterococcus 160
- Tuesday, Feb 17, 2026Fecal coliform 34,000 · Total coliform over 80,000 · Enterococcus 16,9001.33 in of rain in the 3 days before
- Wednesday, Jan 21, 2026Fecal coliform 60 · Total coliform 20 · Enterococcus 400
- Monday, Jan 12, 2026Fecal coliform 100 · Total coliform 100 · Enterococcus 30
- Monday, Jan 5, 2026Fecal coliform 400 · Total coliform 1,500 · Enterococcus 940
- Tuesday, Dec 30, 2025Fecal coliform 340 · Total coliform 2,600 · Enterococcus 1,000
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.