SALT WATER COMMONS / LOCAL, NATIONAL, GLOBAL
Salt Water Commons
Cities used to bathe in the sea, and some are doing it again. Redondo Beach once pumped seawater into a heated plunge. Copenhagen, Paris and Helsinki rebuilt clean water first, then invited swimmers back. Here is how they did it, what is true about our own water, and how to start small and safely.
Sources checked November 8, 2026. Every line links the page it comes from. Posted signs, lifeguards and the official pages have the final word. Not an official City of El Segundo page.
The water right now
Read live from NOAA through this site's conditions feed. If NOAA does not answer, the box says so. Nothing is guessed.
Water temperature, Santa Monica pier…
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Next tide, Santa Monica…
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After rainThree days out
Heal the Bay asks people to avoid all ocean contact for at least three days following significant rainfall.
Tide times are predictions, not surf or swim safety readings. For the day's beach grade or a closure, check the county's beach water page and the lifeguards.
Five ways a city can meet the water
Each rung needs cleaner water, more care and more permission than the one below it. The places in the next section mostly started low and climbed. This ladder is our own framing.
- 1Rinse
Outdoor showers after a swim. In 2015 the county said its beach showers have low-flow heads that shut off by themselves, and no hot water.
- 2Plunge
A short dip with friends near a staffed lifeguard tower, on a dry day. No structure at all.
- 3Pool
A basin filled from the sea, like Sydney's ocean pools or the old Redondo Plunge.
- 4Swim site
A stretch of river or harbor tested every day and flagged open or closed, like the Seine.
- 5Bath network
Shared baths and saunas as everyday civic places, like Tokyo's sento or Gothenburg's free harbor sauna.
- County beach showers, as described in 2015: automatic shutoff, low-flow heads, no hot water. laist.com · reported
Ten places that made it work
Global examples, each from its own source.
- Copenhagen. The first harbor bath opened at Islands Brygge in 2002. Twelve large underground basins now help keep the harbor clean, and the baths close at once if coliform bacteria are detected. en.wikipedia.org · reported · stateofgreen.com · reported
- Paris. Swimming in the Seine was banned in 1923. After about 1.4 billion euros of cleanup it reopened in July 2025, with flags showing each site's status in real time and water tested daily by the city. The three sites drew close to 100,000 visitors that first summer. aljazeera.com · reported · paris.fr · fact · linfodurable.fr · reported
- Sydney. About 30 ocean pools line the coast, the highest density in the world. Wylie's Baths is a not-for-profit community pool, open every day of the year, $6.50 for an adult. timeout.com · reported · wylies.com.au · listing
- Penzance, England. The Jubilee Pool is run by a community society with over 1,400 shareholders. It reopened in 2020 with the UK's first geothermally heated pool, around 35°C. heritagefund.org.uk · reported · lonelyplanet.com · reported
- Ilkley, England. Part of the River Wharfe became England's first river bathing site. Of 1,073 consultation responses, 998 were in favor. deframedia.blog.gov.uk · fact
- Helsinki. Allas Sea Pool opened in 2016. Over 400 people joined its group funding, which raised 810 thousand euros. en.wikipedia.org · reported
- Gothenburg. The Frihamnen sauna is free to book all year. Residents designed it with Raumlabor Berlin, using recycled metal for the facade, and an identical new building replaced it in 2024. goteborg.com · listing
- Tokyo. The adult price cap at public baths rose to ¥600 on August 1, 2026. There are 417 sento left, down from 963 in 2006, with 21.2 million visits counted. soranews24.com · reported · soranews24.com · reported
- Korea and Jeju. Bathhouses fell from 8,904 in 2000 to 5,656 in 2025, and Jeongseon-gun plans a public one by 2027. Jeju's haenyeo divers, on UNESCO's heritage list since 2016, open their festival with a ritual for safety and an abundant sea. koreaherald.com · reported · koreajoongangdaily.com · reported
- Hong Kong. Salt water for flushing reaches about 85 percent of residents. It began with a 1955 pilot and has been free since 1972. devb.gov.hk · fact · en.wikipedia.org · reported
What the big ones share: they cleaned the water before inviting people in, they test often and say so plainly, and residents own a piece of it, as shareholders, a trust, group funders or the people who applied.
Our beach, in numbers
El Segundo and the South Bay. Dry summer water is mostly clean. Rain, and the plant next door, are the trouble.
Day 1Stay out
Day 2Stay out
Day 3Stay out
ThenCheck the grade, then go
- Heal the Bay's 2025 to 2026 report gave A or B grades to 92 percent of LA County beaches in dry summer weather, above the 89 percent average. healthebay.org · reported
- In dry winter weather it was 61 percent, well under the 77 percent average, and after rain 47 percent. healthebay.org · reported
- The same report asks people to avoid all ocean contact for at least three days after significant rain. healthebay.org · reported
- Four of the county's seven Honor Roll beaches in 2025 were in the South Bay, including Dockweiler, Manhattan and Hermosa. patch.com · reported
- Next door, from 1894 until 1925, raw sewage went into the near-shore water where the Hyperion plant now stands. The 1950 plant added full secondary treatment, and treated water leaves through a five-mile outfall. sanitation.lacity.gov · fact
- Hyperion treats an average of 270 million gallons a day. elsegundo.gov · fact
- In July 2021 about 17 million gallons of untreated sewage went out through the one-mile outfall. hahn.lacounty.gov · fact
- Hyperion recycles 27 percent of its treated water today, with a goal of 100 percent by 2035. One city estimate put the price at $16 billion, and revised timelines could push full recycling to 2050. webprod.ladwp.com · fact · lapublicpress.org · reported
- The long-term average water temperature at Santa Monica is about 57°F in January and 68°F in August. Cold water is a shock to the breath, so keep dips short and never go alone. webarchive.library.unt.edu · fact
- In a rip current: float to save energy, swim parallel to the shore, and yell or wave for help. weather.gov · fact
- The South Bay has done rung three before. A Huntington bathhouse opened in Redondo Beach seven years after Long Beach's 1902 plunge, pumping in more than a million gallons of seawater a day, heated by steam from the nearby power plant. It closed on September 28, 1941. pbssocal.org · reported · pacificelectric.org · reported
What needs a permit
A plain guide to who decides. Ask the agency before you plan around it.
| What you want to do | Who decides | What the source says |
|---|---|---|
| A regular, organized beach group or event | LA County Beaches and Harbors | A Beach Camp Use Permit or a Special Event Permit, applied for between 90 days and 3 weeks ahead. beaches.lacounty.gov · fact · beaches.lacounty.gov · fact |
| An event on El Segundo park property | El Segundo Recreation, Parks and Library | An application with insurance at least 50 days ahead. elsegundorecparks.gov · fact |
| Anything built near the sand, like a sauna or basin | California Coastal Commission | Not checked for this page. Ask the commission early. |
| An official bathing site, England's model | No US match found | England asks for at least 100 bathers a day, toilets within about 500 m, and a public consultation in the same season. A useful template for a local proposal. gov.uk · fact |
Quiet water places, kept with care
Across Asia and the Pacific, the water and the care come first, then the quiet. What follows is what the sources describe, then our suggestions.
- About 80,000 shrines belong to Japan's main shrine association. crjapan.org · reported
- At one studied Osaka Jizô shrine, a local shop tenant makes the offerings, two former railway employees take turns cleaning outside it, and an association driven by the merchants provides candles and incense. www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp · reported
- Ise, Japan's most sacred shrine, is rebuilt every two decades. The current cycle runs until 2033. timeout.com · reported
- In Okinawa, the sacred places called utaki keep dense enclosed forest and picturesque rocks as their key features. whc.unesco.org · fact
- Bali has about 1,200 water collectives that share water through a cooperative network of water temples, on UNESCO's list since 2012. whc.unesco.org · fact · whc.unesco.org · fact
- At Tirta Empul, founded in 926 and still in use, bathers cleanse under one spout and then join the next queue. indonesia.travel · listing
- A writer on Japanese gardens heard from Japanese interviewees that a torii without a deity does not feel right, and suggests one out of context could be cultural appropriation. japanesegardens.jp · reported
What would be respectful here, in our view
- A plain stone basin with fresh water, a bench facing the ocean, and a planting.
- A care board that says who sweeps and who refills the water, on which day.
- A small plaque crediting the traditions that inspired it, made with a local Japanese American temple or group, not around them.
- Leave out torii gates, shimenawa ropes, statues and charms, and don't call it a shrine in a religious sense. "Quiet place" or "water stone" is honest.
Local bridges
- The American Daijingu was established in Los Angeles in 1909. papers10.aarweb.org · reported
- Torrance has been Kashiwa's sister city since 1973, and Redondo Beach has been paired with Itoman, Okinawa since 2013. la.us.emb-japan.go.jp · fact
- In Van Nuys, the Japanese Garden is irrigated with recycled water from the Tillman plant next door and is open to the public. Recycled water can feed a contemplative place. sanitation.lacity.gov · fact
- Gardena Buddhist Church, at 166th Street and Halldale Avenue, holds occasional heritage and Obon festivals in its parking lot. discovernikkei.org · reported
One small version already exists on this site: the Grand Ave Water Stone, a one-minute pause with live tide and water readings.
From one dawn dip to a city proposal
A starter path. Our suggestion, using the rules above.
- Week 1: a dawn dipA few friends, near a staffed lifeguard tower, on a dry day. Rinse at the beach showers after. Keep it small and informal.
- Month 1: log the waterEach time, note the beach grade, water temperature and how many came. The live box above has the NOAA readings.
- Month 2: make it regularOnce it is a regular organized group, ask LA County Beaches and Harbors about a Beach Camp Use Permit, 90 days to 3 weeks ahead.
- Month 3: a water stoneOn private or city land, with a Japanese American partner: a basin, a bench and a care board.
- A season: a shared saunaOn private land near the beach, designed with the people who come, after asking the Coastal Commission what applies.
- Year 1: bring the city a proposalUse England's playbook: counts from your log, letters from neighbors and a public comment round. Ask for posted daily grades, warmer rinse showers and a study of a protected tidal basin.
Sources, word for word
Quotes are copied from the page named, checked November 8, 2026. Some are fragments of longer sentences. Labels: fact is an official page, listing is the venue itself, reported is another outlet.
- PBS SoCal, Lost LA: when L.A. took the plunge, checked November 8, 2026:
Seven years later, another Huntington-financed bathhouse opened in Redondo Beach.
Every day, pumps drew in more than one million gallons of seawater from the ocean
on September 28, 1941, citing declining visitation
reported - Pacific Electric Railway Historical Society, Redondo Plunge, checked November 8, 2026:
The water was heated by steam generators at Henry Huntington's nearby Pacific Light & Power Company.
reported - Wikipedia, Copenhagen Harbour Baths, checked November 8, 2026:
For the swimming season of 2002, the harbour bath at Islands Brygge opened as the first harbour bath in town.
reported - State of Green, from industrial harbour to urban harbour bath, checked November 8, 2026:
Today, there are 12 of these vast basins (the largest is called the Colosseum), and they keep the harbour clean.
close the harbour baths immediately if coliform bacteria are detected in the water
reported - Al Jazeera, River Seine reopens to Paris swimmers, July 5, 2025, checked November 8, 2026:
banned in 1923
authorities invested approximately 1.4 billion euros ($1.6bn)
reported - Ville de Paris, swimming in the Seine, checked November 8, 2026:
Des drapeaux indiquent en temps réel les conditions d'accès aux sites de baignade
analysée quotidiennement par la Ville
fact - L'info durable, Paris sur Seine season two, checked November 8, 2026:
les trois sites qui avaient accueilli l'an dernier près de 100.000 visiteurs
reported - Time Out Sydney, ocean pools, checked November 8, 2026:
meaning the Harbour City has the highest ocean pool density in the world.
with 30 of them being located on Sydney's coastline
reported - Wylie's Baths, information, checked November 8, 2026:
Wylie's Baths is open 365 days a year!
Please keep in mind that Wylie's Baths is a not-for-profit, community swimming pool.
Single Adult Entry | $6.50
listing - National Lottery Heritage Fund, Penzance Jubilee Pool, checked November 8, 2026:
The society is a community-run social enterprise with over 1,400 shareholders.
After undergoing refurbishment, it opened in 2020 with the UK's first geothermally heated pool.
reported - Lonely Planet, the geothermally heated lido, checked November 8, 2026:
Swimmers can now bathe in balmy waters heated to a very pleasant 35 degrees Celsius (95°F) no matter the weather.
reported - Defra, River Wharfe at Ilkley becomes first river bathing site in England, Dec. 22, 2020, checked November 8, 2026:
In total there were 1073 responses, the largest to date for a proposed bathing water designation
with 998 respondents in favour of making the site a designated bathing water area
fact - GOV.UK, designate a bathing water, checked November 8, 2026:
have at least 100 bathers a day during the bathing season (15 May to 30 September)
toilet facilities bathers can use during the bathing season, within a short distance of up to about 500m from the site
Your consultation must be open during the bathing season in the same year you submit your application
fact - Wikipedia, Allas Sea Pool, checked November 8, 2026:
It was opened on 1 September 2016 on the site of the former Kanavaterminaali building.
which gathered 810 thousand euros
Over 400 people participated in the group funding.
reported - Göteborg & Co, the sauna in Frihamnen, checked November 8, 2026:
The sauna is free to use and is open for everyone to book throughout the year
It was created in collaboration between local residents and the German architecture collective Raumlabor Berlin.
recycled metal sheeting was used for the facade
In summer 2024, the prototype was replaced by a new, identical building on the same site in Jubileumsparken.
listing - SoraNews24, Tokyo sento fee cap, July 30, 2026, checked November 8, 2026:
will increase by 50 yen to reach 600 yen (US$3.66) per adult (ages 12 and up) in Tokyo Prefecture.
The new fee will go into effect on August 1.
the total number of sento in the prefecture has decreased by 13 for a total of 417.
a total of 21,185,000 sento users
reported - SoraNews24, the state of the sento, 2021, checked November 8, 2026:
In 2006, Tokyo still had a total of 963 sento.
reported - Korea Herald, public bathhouses, checked November 8, 2026:
The number of bathhouses fell from 8,904 in 2000 to 5,656 in 2025.
Jeongseon-gun plans to build a public bathhouse by 2027
reported - Korea JoongAng Daily, Jeju haenyeo festival, checked November 8, 2026:
it was inscribed on Unesco's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016
The festival will begin with a haenyeo shamanic ritual praying for the divers' safety and an abundant sea
reported - Hong Kong Development Bureau, Secretary for Development, checked November 8, 2026:
the salt water supply network which, nowadays, has covered about 85 per cent of Hong Kong's population.
fact - Wikipedia, water supply and sanitation in Hong Kong, checked November 8, 2026:
In 1955 seawater was first used to flush toilets in a pilot scheme.
Seawater initially was sold, but from 1972 on it was provided for free
reported - Heal the Bay, 2025 to 2026 Beach Report Card, May 2026, checked November 8, 2026:
Los Angeles County's Summer Dry Grades improved this year, with 92% of its beaches earning A and B grades
above the average of 89%
with just 61% of beaches receiving A and B grades
This is much lower than the average of 77%.
Wet Weather Grades remained average with 47% of beaches achieving A's and B's.
avoid all ocean contact for at least three days following significant rainfall.
reported - Patch, South Bay beaches on the Heal the Bay Honor Roll, June 4, 2025, checked November 8, 2026:
Four out of seven Los Angeles County beaches that made this year's Heal The Bay Honor Roll were in the South Bay.
Dockweiler Beach
Hermosa Beach, Long Point in Palos Verdes, Manhattan Beach, and the Portuguese Bend Cove.
reported - LA Sanitation, Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, checked November 8, 2026:
from 1894 until 1925, raw sewage was discharged into near-shore ocean waters at Hyperion's future location
it included a full secondary treatment system and biosolids processing
through a five-mile ocean outfal
fact - LASAN, Hyperion 2035 program fact sheet, checked November 8, 2026:
recycles 27% of the treated wastewater for in-plant, irrigation, industrial, and other non-potable uses.
with the goal of recycling 100% of this wastewater for beneficial reuse by 2035.
fact - Pure Water Los Angeles program update, posted by the City of El Segundo, checked November 8, 2026:
Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant treats an average of 270 million gallons per day
fact - LA Public Press, L.A.'s recycling plans stuck in limbo, June 2024, checked November 8, 2026:
One LASAN estimate pins a $16 billion price-tag to the project.
possible revised timelines could see 100% wastewater recycling at Hyperion by as late as 2050
reported - Supervisor Janice Hahn, on the July 2021 Hyperion spill, checked November 8, 2026:
discharged approximately 17 million gallons of untreated sewage through the one-mile outfall
fact - LAist, beach showers in the drought, July 12, 2015, checked November 8, 2026:
Our showers automatically shut off
they have low-flow heads
there's no hot water
reported - NOAA NODC coastal water temperature guide, Southern Pacific (archived 2009), checked November 8, 2026:
Santa Monica, CA: 57 (January), 68 (August)
fact - National Weather Service, rip current safety, checked November 8, 2026:
Stay calm and relax. Float to conserve energy.
swim parallel to the shoreline
If you need help, yell or wave for assistance.
fact - LA County Beaches and Harbors, Beach Camp Use Permit, checked November 8, 2026:
The permit must be applied for no earlier than 90 days, and no later than 3 weeks, before the desired event date(s).
fact - LA County Beaches and Harbors, Special Event Permit, checked November 8, 2026:
The permit must be applied for no earlier than 90 days, and no later than 3 weeks, before the desired event date(s).
fact - El Segundo Recreation, Parks and Library, special event permit, checked November 8, 2026:
Please complete application and provide insurance documents at least 50 days prior the event.
fact - Kokugakuin University, an Osaka Jizô shrine and its keepers, checked November 8, 2026:
makes offerings before the Jizô
Higashiyama and Matsumura take turns cleaning the area outside the shrine.
A local religious service association provides candles and incense before the shrine,
the driving force behind the shrine's religious service association is the local merchants' association
reported - Center for Religion in Japan, the Association of Shinto Shrines, checked November 8, 2026:
approximately 80,000 shrines are affiliated with this association
reported - Time Out, why Japan's most sacred shrine is rebuilt every 20 years, checked November 8, 2026:
the shrine is ceremonially rebuilt every two decades.
will run until 2033, when the sacred mirror is transferred to the newly completed sanctuary
reported - UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System, checked November 8, 2026:
In total Bali has about 1,200 water collectives
Water temples are the focus of a cooperative management of water resource by a group of subaks
fact - UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Subak documents, checked November 8, 2026:
2012 Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy
fact - Indonesia Travel, the holy springs of Tirta Empul, checked November 8, 2026:
Tirta Empul was founded in 926 A.D and is still being actively used to this day.
Once they have cleansed themselves under the first spout they join the next queue.
listing - UNESCO, Gusuku Sites nomination and ICOMOS evaluation, 2000, checked November 8, 2026:
retains the key features of the Ryukyuan sacred places known as Utaki: dense enclosed forest and picturesque rocks.
fact - Japanese Gardens, garden element: the torii, checked November 8, 2026:
it doesn't feel right to use a torii without the presence of a deity in a shrine building.
could be therefore an object of true cultural appropriation.
reported - American Academy of Religion, paper abstract on the American Daijingu, checked November 8, 2026:
the American Daijingu (grand shrine), established in Los Angeles in 1909
reported - Consulate General of Japan in Los Angeles, sister cities, checked November 8, 2026:
Torrance (Los Angeles) Kashiwa (Chiba) 1973
Redondo Beach (Los Angeles) Itoman (Okinawa) 2013
fact - LA Sanitation, Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant, checked November 8, 2026:
The Japanese Garden is irrigated with recycled water from the plant and is open to the public year round.
fact - Discover Nikkei, My L.A.: Gardena, March 2026, checked November 8, 2026:
On the corner of 166th Street and Halldale Avenue there sits the Gardena Buddhist Church.
The occasional heritage or Obon festival is celebrated there upon the asphalted parking lot.
reported
Drafted by Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) from the sources above. See something out of date? Send a correction →