Candlestick Point: Windsurfer Circle
Tested by San Francisco County, usually every 7 days.
Taken 45 days ago. Results can take 1 to 3 weeks to be published, and many sites are tested less often in winter.
Grade B over 7 tests from Aug 31, 2026 to Sep 29, 2026. 1 was over the limit.
No recent test
The last test here was 45 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.
Enterococcus over time
- Tuesday, Sep 29, 2026Enterococcus under 10
- Monday, Sep 28, 2026Fecal coliform 10 · Total coliform 60
- Monday, Sep 21, 2026Fecal coliform 270 · Total coliform 3,700 · Enterococcus 10
- Monday, Sep 14, 2026Fecal coliform 10 · Total coliform 640 · Enterococcus 41
- Tuesday, Sep 8, 2026Fecal coliform under 5 · Total coliform 1,800 · Enterococcus 10
- Tuesday, Sep 1, 2026Fecal coliform 135 · Total coliform 250 · Enterococcus 41
- Monday, Aug 31, 2026Fecal coliform 1,100 · Total coliform 900 · Enterococcus 228
- Monday, Aug 24, 2026Fecal coliform under 5 · Total coliform 110 · Enterococcus 20
- Monday, Aug 17, 2026Fecal coliform 10 · Total coliform 140 · Enterococcus under 10
- Monday, Aug 10, 2026Fecal coliform under 5 · Total coliform 1,400 · Enterococcus 20
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 (Hayward Air Term, Oakland, San Francisco Downtown, San Francisco Intl). Limits: California Code of Regulations, Title 17, Section 7958.