Officials: Rain to hurt ocean water

Bacteria levels in the ocean usually rise after it rains, but Monday’s torrential downpour should cause more of a health hazard than most storms because it was one of the first big ones of the year, according to county officials.

Swimmers and surfers shouldn’t go in the water anywhere along the Orange County coast until at least Saturday, the county recommends. The section of beach just southeast of the Santa Ana River outlet in Newport Beach is probably the biggest hazard locally because the current this time of year usually flows down the coast, said Orange County Health Care Agency Program Manager Larry Honeybourne.

“We’ve had two inches of rain in some areas in an 18-hour period, so the flows are very heavy,” Honeybourne said. “You want to avoid the Santa Ana River mouth definitely.”

Typical illnesses people get from going in the water after heavy rain are mostly intestinal sicknesses such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea as well as ear, eye, nose and throat infections.

Storm drains and places where creeks and rivers meet the ocean are the most hazardous. Besides the Santa Ana River mouth, local swimmers especially want to avoid areas like the outlet of Talbert Marsh, about 300 yards up the coast from the Santa Ana River, and the beaches north of the Huntington Beach pier where runoff from the cliffs sometimes makes it over the sand and into the ocean, Honeybourne said.