Environmental Group: Ocean Swimming 'Not Healthy' After Storm

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — It wasn't exactly beach weather in the Southland on Wednesday, but one local environmental group urged swimmers to stay out of the ocean for the next few days due to potential health risks.

Heal The Bay is warning the public that during the first storm of the season, urban runoff is carried through the storm drain system into the Santa Monica and San Pedro bays.

"With the Southland experiencing its first wet weather of the fall, Heal the Bay is reminding residents that swimming in the ocean is not healthy during the next 72 hours," said Matthew King of Heal the Bay.

Debris and toxins that have been accumulating for months on sidewalks, roadways and riverbeds get washed into the storm drains whenever the first significant rain falls, King said.

"Unlike sewage, this runoff typically receives no treatment and flows freely onto shorelines and the sea through the network of open channels, catch basins and drain pipes," King said.