Remember when you first arrived in L.A. and people were always saying that you should not swim next to the Santa Monica Pier?

They told you that despite the beautiful waves and well-manicured beach, the water was dirty and you'll catch diseases, and you looked at them as if they were nuts. Remember that?

Well, according to Heal the Bay, all those people were absolutely right. Don't swim near the Santa Monica Pier!

Heal the Bay recently released a “2013 End of Summer Beach Report Card.” The water quality actually improved this year at most Los Angeles County beaches, many of them receiving “A” and “B” grades. The Santa Monica Pier, though, got a lowly “D” grade.

So we'll say it once again, Don't Swim at the Santa Monica Pier!

Other beaches you should be wary of, according to Heal the Bay, is Surfrider-breach point (C grade), Malibu Pier (D grade), Long Beach City Beach-projection of

55th (D grade), Cabrillo Beach-harborside at boat launch (D grade), and Cabrillo Beach-harborside at restrooms (F grade).

The federal government, however, may cut funding for beach testing, Heal the Bay states, with serious consequences for the public.

“Without continued federal funding,” Heal the Bay writes in its beach report, “bather health protection will be threatened as all states will likely be forced to scale back their beach programs.”

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