Heal the Bay

Heal the Bay's mission is to make Southern California's coastal waters and watersheds, including Santa Monica Bay, safe, healthy and clean. The organization employs sound research, wide-reach education, community action and passionate advocacy to improve the quality and health of regional oceans, watersheds and neighborhoods.

It’s working. Our coastal waters are improving. Awareness of what causes pollution is getting better. And Heal the Bay has attracted a membership of more than 12,000 people.

Heal the Bay's new mobile device app lets ocean lovers check the latest water quality grades at their favorite beach. Its Beach Report Card helps protect the health of millions of California beachgoers by providing weekly A-to-F water-quality grades for more than 500 beaches statewide. The organization also uses the data to inform its advocacy efforts, pinpointing chronically troubled beaches that need special attention.

Heal the Bay's policy recommendations are driven by objective data gathering and rigorous, in-house scientific analysis. When implemented, these science-based solutions effect measurable change. The organization has a 27-year track record of addressing challenges and improving quality of life throughout Los Angeles County. It works collaboratively with government agencies and other entities to find solutions to complex issues.

We all have a vested interest in the ocean, no matter where we live. People in Los Angeles feel a special connection to our beaches and we all have a duty to protect what we love. Some 50 million people visit Santa Monica Bay beaches each year, finding recreational value in a myriad of activities. In a highly urbanized metropolis, the shoreline offers needed open space and respite from the busy world.

The Santa Monica Bay is demonstrably cleaner today than when the organization began 27 years ago, thanks to efforts to educate the public about the causes of ocean pollution and pressuring dischargers to properly treat wastewater.

Some of Heal the Bay’s most recent successes include:
   • Leading the charge to create marine protected areas off the coast of Southern CA
   • Spearheading legislation to curb plastic pollution from reaching our oceans, such as the recent ordinance to ban harmful plastic bags in LA
   • Drafting Low Impact Development ordinances throughout Southern CA
   • Helping enact a statewide moratorium on the sale of shark fins
   • Collecting more than 1 million pounds of trash at cleanups in Los Angeles County over the last 27 years

How can you help?
   • Volunteer for a beach cleanup or creek restoration
   • Visit Heal the Bay's award-winning Santa Monica Pier Aquarium
   • Advocate for clean water by attending hearings or signing petitions
   • Join the Heal the Bay Speakers Bureau
   • Book an ocean-friendly presentation for your child's school

​Selected Awards:
Stewardship of the Year Award
California Travel Association Summit, 2012