Beaches in California are polluted despite less water runoff from cities. Now a team of researchers are working on a faster way to check beach water quality, as several beaches and tourists hotspots in California are still polluted.

Angelo Bellomo of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said that the famous sun and surf of southern California might appear glamorous to some, but beachgoers do not find anything which they could say is attractive or different.

Bellomo said runoff from the urban environment, carries with it contamination due to animal waste, sewage overflows, and if it enter the beaches through the normal pipes one would surely want to avoid contact with water during those periods.

A number of infectious diseases can be transmitted in ocean water, said Bellomo. It has been told that a plenty of people, however, play in the water at the beach at Santa Monica Pier, which is one of the most polluted beaches in California.

Californian Public Health Officials are now concerned and are trying to find a better way that could help them determine water quality of beaches in California.

As of now water at the beaches is monitored with a lab test. Officials post a sign at beach if they find that a particular beach’s water quality is poor.

Leslie Griffin with the environmental group, Heal the Bay, said, “Right now it takes 18 to 24 hours to get water quality results, but it is little ridiculous because we want people to know day of when they are going in water whether or not they can be getting sick”.

Heal the Bay’s James Alamillo said researchers in California are developing a predictive modeling system that could speed up the process. It would take 15 minutes to produce a similar result in terms of a public health decision, Alamillo said.