WindanSea Beach: Palomar
Tested by San Diego County, usually every 7 days.
Taken 16 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: Total coliform 600 · Fecal coliform under 20 · Enterococcus 60. The grade follows the worst one against its own limit.
Grade A over 7 tests from Sep 30, 2026 to Oct 28, 2026. None were over the limit.
Passed, but close to the limit
The latest test was under the safe limit. Avoid swallowing water, keep cuts covered, and stay out for 72 hours after any rain.
County status: Advisory, checked Friday, Nov 13 (San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality). The county’s posting is the final word.
Enterococcus over time
- Wednesday, Oct 28, 2026Total coliform 600 · Fecal coliform under 20 · Enterococcus 60
- Monday, Oct 26, 2026Total coliform 200 · Fecal coliform under 20 · Enterococcus 20
- Monday, Oct 19, 2026Fecal coliform 8 · Total coliform 20 · Enterococcus 4
- Thursday, Oct 15, 2026Fecal coliform 54 · Total coliform 200 · Enterococcus 22
- Wednesday, Oct 7, 2026Fecal coliform 2 · Total coliform under 20 · Enterococcus 4
- Tuesday, Oct 6, 2026Fecal coliform under 2 · Total coliform under 20 · Enterococcus under 2
- Wednesday, Sep 30, 2026Fecal coliform 40 · Total coliform 200 · Enterococcus under 20
- Monday, Sep 21, 2026Fecal coliform under 20 · Total coliform under 200 · Enterococcus 4
- Tuesday, Sep 15, 2026Fecal coliform 4 · Total coliform 200 · Enterococcus 6
- Wednesday, Sep 9, 2026Fecal coliform under 2 · Total coliform 40 · Enterococcus under 2
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 (San Diego/Montgomery Fld, San Diego/Lindberg). Limits: California Code of Regulations, Title 17, Section 7958.