Foster City Addressing Lagoon Water Quality

For immediate release: June 23, 2022

Contact: Louis Sun, Public Works Director, lsun@fostercity.org, (650) 286-3276

Heal the Bay released its annual “Beach Bummers” list Wednesday, June 22, and two of the state’s top ten polluted beaches identified are in Foster City (Erckenbrack Park and Marlin Park). This was similar to last year, when three Foster City beaches (Erckenbrack Park, Marlin Park, and Gull Park) were included on the same list.

The City’s beaches have regularly ranked poorly on the Beach Bummer list due to high bacteria levels present in the Lagoon. Last year, the City conducted a Lagoon Monitoring Study to find the source of bacteria and it was determined that it originated primarily from water birds.

“The poor water quality around these parks is due to high concentration of indicator bacteria exceeding State or County standards.  The main cause of this is due to the large population of water birds around our Lagoon system, not the lack of water circulation or lingering residential and commercial runoff,” said Public Works Director Louis Sun.  “The City is well aware of this issue and is actively working to introduce environmentally-friendly and sustainable solutions.”

As part of the commitment to improve Lagoon water quality, the City is in the process of updating its Lagoon Management Plan, which is expected to be published soon and detail a variety of options for addressing the issue. The City has also been conducting its own water quality monitoring on beaches that have historically tested poorly, as well as other locations throughout the Lagoon. Plus, the County continues to monitor the beaches weekly. 

Questions and comments regarding the Lagoon water quality should be directed via email to Public Works Director Louis Sun at lsun@fostercity.org

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