Michael Short

Angella Miller of Chicago walks out into the water to skip rocks at Baker Beach, one of two beaches in San Francisco that received top honors in the annual water-quality survey. The other is Ocean Beach.

Dry weather and stricter regulations have boosted water quality at Bay Area beaches to their cleanest level in years, a report released Thursday found.

Nearly every beach in the Bay Area, and throughout the state, had dramatically lower levels of bacteria and pollution than last year, according to an annual survey of 650 West Coast beaches by Heal the Bay, a Santa Monica environmental group.

"This is one of our best years yet," said Amanda Griesbach, a water-quality scientist at Heal the Bay, which compiled its data from weekly water-quality checks throughout the year along the California coast. "Especially with summer coming, people should be happy that beaches in California are clean."

Six local beaches earned top honors, including four in San Mateo County and two in San Francisco: Sharp Park and Rockaway beaches in Pacifica, Montara State Beach, Dunes Beach in Half Moon Bay, and Baker and Ocean beaches in San Francisco.

Nearly all beaches in the Bay Area earned "good" or "excellent" grades, including some in the past that have been among the most polluted, such as Baker Beach.

The report looked at bacteria and pollution seeping into coastal waters from sewage plants, industry and urban runoff. Tougher state and federal standards on water treatment and pollution have led to fewer beach closures and generally cleaner water, according to the report.

Over the past few years, the State Water Resources Control Board and its regional offices have tightened controls and increased enforcement on water treatment plants, refineries, factories and sewage treatment facilities, said Tim Moran, spokesman for the state water board.

"It's a continual process. But we try to identify the problems and take action when we can," he said.

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Water at California beaches cleanest in years