Located in beautiful Santa Cruz County and founded in 1847, Capitola is one of hundreds of tourist sites in California. With Capitola’s beach, small shops, award winning restaurants, and beach houses, where else would you want to go for a vacation? Every day Capitola Village is packed with locals and tourists looking for a day of fun. They spend their day soaking in the sun as well as the water. Little do the innocent tourists know that a few yards away from them is a small sign that states “Contaminated water. Unsafe for swimming or water contact”. Every day dozens of children and adults play in and enjoy the cool ocean at the Capitola beach even with the sign right in front of their eyes. How is the water affecting them? It won’t turn out to be a very pleasant vacation if any tourist goes home with an illness because of the water contamination. Right on the beach are several restaurants that are very popular, not just to tourists but hungry locals. Along side the restaurants, pouring out into the Capitola beach is a small river that contains the pollution that is affecting the popular bay water. Not only do street and agricultural runoff contaminate the river but so do the popular restaurants. Trash is constantly being spilt or blown into the river because of the careless people. Every once in a while there are sewage leaks and spills, which also contribute to the pollution. Mr. Toots, a privately owned coffee shop, is one of many restaurants, on the river that spills out into the ocean. It has a small balcony where people can enjoy their drinks, and the view of the ocean. It is very true that the ocean view is spectacular and very relaxing but when looking down into the polluted river it is hard to believe that Capitola is a sanitary place. From murky discolored water to soda cans and bottles, the river is full of completely visible pollutants. Looking down into the water, it is clear that it is not even remotely clean. The water varies from a murky brown to an almost bluish-gray color. There is trash, such as bags from chips, soda cans, glass bottles, and plastic cups. When looking at the river there are usually many ducks swimming and bathing. Is the polluted water affecting the wildlife in any way? How can we pinpoint the problem that is causing all of this water damage? Not much is being done about the water pollution at Capitola beach. “People, organizations, school groups come in from time to time and do clean-ups on the beach.”, claimed Ed Morrison from the Capitola Department of Public Works. “City staff is charged with the task on a daily basis.” As Morrison continued, he said, “In the summer months they rake kelp off the beach, sift sand and remove debris, hand pick litter, and dump garbage cans placed along the length of the beach.” Sure, the visible trash is picked up along the beach but what about the pollutants that are contaminating the water that hundreds of kids play in each year? Something needs to be done to cure the water but until we pinpoint the cause of the pollution, nothing else can be done.