A binational analysis of data from 20 beaches on both sides of the border shows fecal bacteria is present in the water and exceeds health standards almost year-round. Over a two-year period, One Coast Project and the Permanent Forum of Binational Waters looked into water samples gathered since 1999 along the coastline from Carlsbad, California, about 50 miles north of the border, to Rosarito, Baja California, roughly 15 miles south of Tijuana. The study found that in Southern California’s beaches, the highest concentrations of enterococci bacteria were reported during the spring, averaging over 15,000 units per 100 milliliters of water, nearly 100 times the binational legal limit average in both countries.