SAN DIEGO — San Diego beachgoers are being advised by officials to avoid contact with the water at local beaches, over concerns of urban runoff after Friday's storm.
The San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality has issued a general rain advisory to avoid water contact at all coastal beaches and bays. Despite the warnings, beachgoers cannot seem to get enough of the beach activities.
“It can be trash that moves into the beaches, we see that in normal time and those can carry various types of bacteria,” said Simone Fraid, who is part of Surfriders Foundation San Diego.
Fertilizers, pesticides, animal waste, oil-carry bacteria, all that gunk could be picked up by storm water runoff and hit our beaches in a concentrated mass, before slowly dispersing out into the rest of the ocean, according to Surfrider Foundation San Diego.
“Just trash and anything that gets into the streets, so it's picking up every little thing that aligns the way,” said Frai.
After testing levels of bacteria in the water, the county’s department of environmental health issued a general rain advisory for 72 hours, warning visitors about possible illnesses that can stem from storm water runoff.
According to research from the University of Berkley, the risk of infection is the highest during and the day after rain.
On Saturday, dozens of swimmers were seen just at Ocean Beach, CBS 8 even asked surfers if they were concerned, but many responded that the waves were just too good to miss.
However, it’s a concern for the Surfrider Foundation who say some of the possible symptoms people could develop is ear infections and stomach pains.
If you can’t get away from the beach a day after it rains, officials recommend that you consider moving away from runoff areas, and stay out of murky or discolored water.
If you see lots of leaves and plastic bottles floating around, then get out of the water. Storm water can look clean and still have a very high concentration of disease.
WATCH RELATED: Rain soaks South Bay, Tijuana creating concerns over contaminated beaches