County adds sites, faster tests to check beach water quality

Katie White

County of San Diego Communications Office

Local beachgoers can feel more confident about frolicking in the ocean, thanks to a couple of enhancements to the county's beach water testing program.

San Diego County's Department of Environmental Health now has a testing tool that allows officials to alert beachgoers faster than ever before when the water is not safe due to potentially harmful levels of bacteria. The tool, implemented countywide at the beginning of summer, is the fastest standard test approved by the state.

"This testing method allows us to confirm dangerous bacteria lev...