Gaviota State Beach
Tested by Santa Barbara County, usually every 7 days.
Taken 18 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 13,000 · E. coli 530 · Enterococcus 110. The grade follows the worst one against its own limit.
Grade B over 7 tests from Sep 28, 2026 to Oct 26, 2026. 2 were over the limit.
Stay out until a retest passes
The latest test was over the safe limit. No one can say how long that lasts: the beach is cleared when a new test comes back under the limit. This site is usually tested every 7 days, so a newer test may already be taken and not yet published.
Cause not known
The testing agency does not name a cause, and there is no official rain gauge within 20 miles to check for rain.
Enterococcus over time
No National Weather Service rain gauge is within 20 miles of this site.
- Monday, Oct 26, 2026Total coliform 13,000 · E. coli 530 · Enterococcus 110
- Monday, Oct 19, 2026Total coliform 560 · E. coli 460 · Enterococcus 41
- Wednesday, Oct 14, 2026Total coliform 490 · E. coli 160 · Enterococcus under 10
- Monday, Oct 12, 2026Total coliform 560 · E. coli 460 · Enterococcus 41
- Tuesday, Oct 6, 2026Total coliform 120 · E. coli 10 · Enterococcus under 10
- Wednesday, Sep 30, 2026Total coliform 200 · E. coli 120 · Enterococcus 20
- Monday, Sep 28, 2026Total coliform 890 · E. coli 860 · Enterococcus 140
- Tuesday, Sep 22, 2026Total coliform 31 · E. coli under 10 · Enterococcus under 10
- Monday, Sep 14, 2026Total coliform 210 · E. coli 52 · Enterococcus 10
- Tuesday, Sep 8, 2026Total coliform 890 · E. coli 41 · Enterococcus under 10
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. Limits: California Code of Regulations, Title 17, Section 7958.