Group resumes water testing

Laguna Beach High School students resumed testing local ocean waters for bacteria this week after a three-month hiatus.

The seven-year program, which had been sponsored by the Laguna Beach chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, was halted in December after Surfrider decided not to fund water testing in the schools.

The Laguna Beach School District PTA Council stepped in with funding to continue the program through the end of the year.

The bacteria counts are not considered official by the county Health Department, which conducts its own routine testing and posts warning signs or closes beaches when bacteria counts are at unsafe levels.

— Cindy Frazier