At REEF, the beach and ocean are near to our hearts. That’s why since 2016, we’ve supported the Surfrider Foundation’s mission to protect clean water and healthy beaches. In 2018, we co-founded the Better Beach Alliance in support of Surfrider’s national Beach Cleanup program. In 2020, we expanded that support to help our local Surfrider chapter facilitate water quality testing at the beaches in our own backyard, by hosting their new community lab here in North San Diego County.

Each year, Surfrider chapters throughout the country conduct thousands of water quality tests to help identify and address sources of pollution, and inform the public to keep surfers, swimmers and beachgoers (you!) safe. As surf and beach enthusiasts in the San Diego community, some of our staff are actively involved in volunteering with their local Surfrider chapter’s water quality monitoring program. When we heard that the Surfrider San Diego chapter needed a place to build their new water testing lab, we were proud to lend some of our office space to help our local chapter keep up their great work protecting the beaches and waves that we all love.

The North County community lab now processes water quality samples from six of our local beaches, where the Surfrider San Diego County team monitors levels of bacteria and publishes their findings here on Surfrider's website. We are stoked to report that since the lab opened in 2020, 557 water samples have been tested, with at least 32 volunteers engaged in the process.

The data the lab team reports regularly has helped keep the public safe from water quality concerns by identifying and addressing pollutants from the source. These water quality reports continue to advance Surfrider’s campaigns and coalition work throughout San Diego County, including ongoing efforts to restore and protect more than 200 acres of historic wetlands through the ReWild Mission Bay campaign.