Pacifica’s Linda Mar Beach, a longtime local surf break and go-to family hangout, has landed on a very different kind of list this year after volunteers found that 72% of water samples taken there in 2025 exceeded health standards. The numbers shine a harsh spotlight on the mouth of San Pedro Creek, which drains an urban watershed straight onto the sand where people swim and surf. For locals who treat the spot as a second backyard, the data are a blunt reminder that a picture-perfect shoreline can hide chronic pollution problems.
What the new report found
The Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task Force released its 2025 Clean Water Report, which lists Linda Mar with a 72% high-bacteria rate, meaning nearly three in four samples exceeded state safety benchmarks. The ranking quickly made its way into local coverage, which also noted other California hot spots, including Imperial Beach and San Luis Creek, NBC Bay Area reported.
Why Linda Mar keeps failing tests
Much of the trouble traces back to San Pedro Creek, which funnels urban runoff, including stormwater, animal waste and leaking sewer laterals, directly into the surf at Linda Mar. Both the creek and Pacifica State Beach have long been listed as impaired under the Clean Water Act, and the region adopted a bacteria TMDL to tackle the problem, as outlined by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. The TMDL sets monitoring and implementation obligations for local agencies and dischargers, but advocates say source-finding and the infrastructure repairs needed to back it up have been slow to materialize.
Volunteers pushing for answers
Surfrider’s San Mateo County chapter and a Linda Mar Water Quality Coalition say they have been collecting weekly samples at the mouth of San Pedro Creek and, in 2025, launched DNA-based testing to help distinguish human sewage from animal sources. Volunteers and community groups are pressing for more sewer-lateral inspections, better stormwater controls and clearer warning signage at the beach. Their grassroots push aims to increase pressure on the city and county to invest in repairs and targeted fixes to reduce the number of unsafe days in the lineup.
How beachgoers can reduce their risk
Public-health groups routinely advise steering clear of ocean water during and for at least 72 hours after heavy rain and avoiding creek mouths and storm drains altogether. Heal the Bay’s Beach Report Card and county monitoring pages are practical tools to check conditions before you head in. If you do get in the water, try not to swallow seawater, rinse off with fresh water afterward and skip swimming if you have open wounds or a compromised immune system. For now, careful timing, common sense after storms and ongoing community testing are the most reliable protections while regulators and local governments work toward longer-term fixes.
