In its annual beach report card, environmental group Heal the Bay gave Hermosa Beach an A-plus grade for ocean water quality last week. Last year, the city earned just an A grade.
What changed?
Heal the Bay has recognized two stormwater and urban runoff projects the city completed last year as helping it achieve top grades, said Hermosa Beach Mayor Peter Tucker in a statement Tuesday.
One of those projects is the Pier Avenue Improvement Project, which renovated Pier Avenue last year to include cobblestone pavements and a new infiltration-storm drain system to trap trash and storm water from the downtown area. The initiative .
Prior, the city completed its , which was built along the Strand as a protective barrier to capture urban runoff, stormwater, and debris before it reached the ocean, redirecting the dirty water to a 1,000-foot long infiltration trench. The project earned award.
“We are pleased that Heal the Bay recognized the work our city has done to protect and improve local water quality,” Tucker said. “The Pier Avenue and Strand Infiltration Trench projects are wonderful examples of the work that our community is doing to make Hermosa Beach a greener place to live, work and play. We hope that these projects will serve as models for other communities seeking to protect and preserve the environment.”
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