Avoid Swimming In California's Famous Santa Monica Beach For One Truly Disgusting Reason

Despite its swanky neighborhoods and Hollywood glamour, southern California is not exactly known for its cleanliness. Even efforts to cut down on smog with things like smog inspections on vehicles and quite a few beach cleanup organization, have yet to change the area's reputation. However, the water quality off the coast of the bustling and entertaining town of Santa Monica is alarmingly unclean for perhaps an unexpected reason, and it'll make you think twice before swimming.

In 2024, the L.A. County Department of Public Health warned that the water at a handful of beaches around Santa Monica harbored excessive levels of bacteria, including the beaches on each side of the world-famous Santa Monica Pier. While beaches of Santa Monica are not immune to the usual water polluters that affect oceans everywhere, the L.A. County Department of Beaches and Harbors reported that human fecal waste contributes to the water's bacteria, but pigeon droppings make up a significant amount of total fecal pollution. It may sound surprising, but humans play a role in the pigeon contamination, too.

In their 2022-2023 report, environmental nonprofit Heal the Bay encouraged beach visitors not to feed pigeons as doing so attracts these birds in higher numbers, and therefore brings about more droppings to contaminate the water. As of 2023, feeding birds on and around Santa Monica Pier is illegal. Human interaction is also what brought pigeons to urban spaces in the first place as many enjoyed keeping them in captivity. While this is no longer the case, they have continued to thrive among big buildings even though this sounds unnatural.

Aside from spreading the word about keeping food away from animals around the water, city planners are trying to keep birds away by putting nets under the pier which prevent them from nesting. The Santa Monica Sustainable Water Infrastructure Project (SWIP) is also working to improve the water quality by treating urban runoff before this polluted water reaches the coast via storm drains and streams. While Santa Monica Pier is among the best stops to make on a Route 66 trip, maybe check news reports on water quality before taking a dip — or take your beach vacation elsewhere until Santa Monica's environmental efforts yield stronger results.