The dry conditions in California are good for people who like to swim in the Pacific Ocean. Because of the drought, there is less water runoff from cities into the ocean. As a result, the ocean water is cleaner. But pollution remains a problem in other areas, including popular beaches.
加州干旱对喜欢在太平洋游泳的人来说有利。因为干旱，各个城市流入海洋的径流越少。其结果就是海洋的水更加干净。但是污染在其它地区仍然是个问题，其中就包括受人欢迎的海滩。
Angelo Bellomo works for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
安杰洛·贝洛莫（Angelo Bellomo）就职于洛杉矶县公共卫生局。
"When we have runoff from the urban environment, it could be carrying with it contamination due to animal waste (and) sewage overflows; and if those enter the beaches through the normal pipes that terminate in the ocean, you want to avoid contact with water during those periods."
“来自城市环境的径流会携带动物粪便或污水外溢造成的污染。如果它们通过通向海洋的正常管道进入海滩，这期间你就需要避免和水接触。”
He adds that people could become infected with a number of diseases from swimming in polluted ocean water.
他补充说，人们在污染海水中游泳可能会感染多种疾病。
Public health officials are looking for a fast way to identify water quality levels along the California coast. Currently, they use laboratory tests. If the tests show the quality is poor, warning signs are placed along the coastline. But because lab workers need more than a day to test the water, the information on the sign can be outdated.
公共卫生官员正在寻找一种办法来快速确定加利福尼亚沿海一线的水质水平。目前，他们采用实验室检测。如果检测显示水质很差，就会在沿海岸线设置警告标志。但是因为实验室工作人员检测水质需要一天以上时间，标志上的信息可能会过期。
Leslie Griffin works for an environmental group called "Heal the Bay." She says the current warning system is not very helpful.
莱斯利·格里芬（Leslie Griffin）为环保组织《拯救海湾》工作。她说，目前的警示系统表示不是很有帮助。
"Right now it takes 18 to 24 hours to get those water quality results, but we think that that is a little ridiculous because we want people to know the day of when they are going in the water whether or not they can be getting sick."
“现在需要18到24小时才能获得水质检测结果。我们认为这稍微有点荒谬，因为我们希望人们知道他们下水的当天是否会生病。”
Until lab tests can be completed faster, researchers in California are using what they call a "predictive modeling system." The system makes an educated guess about water quality. Heal the Bay says the system can make a prediction about water quality in as little as 15 minutes.
在实验室检测可以更快完成之前，加州的研究人员开始采用他们所谓的“预测建模系统。”该系统对水质进行有根据推测。拯救海湾组织表示，该系统可以对短到15分钟时间内的水质进行预测。
Researchers use computers to gather information about the environment. The data includes wind speed and direction, information about ocean waves and recent bacterial contamination. Because each beach is different, computer models are created for each one. The researchers then use the data to predict the possible quality of the water that day. The process is called "Nowcasting."
研究人员使用电脑收集环境信息。这些数据包括风速和风向，海浪和近期细菌污染的有关信息。因为每个海滩不同，研究人员为每个海滩创建了计算机模型。研究人员然后利用这些数据预测这天可能的水质。该过程被称之为“临近预报。”
Angelo Bellomo says the predictive modeling system looks promising.
贝洛莫表示，该预测建模系统前景看好。
"We think that the modeling that we have seen so far is generally more accurate than the testing that we are doing, and the reason for that is that even though it is a model and its predicting water quality, it is more timely."
他说，“我们认为目前看到的这个模型比我们所做的检测更加准确。原因是即便它是一个模型，它对水质的预测也更加及时。”
Hong Kong and the American state of Ohio have similar methods of predicting water quality.
香港和美国俄亥俄州也有类似的水质预测办法。
I'm Marsha James.
我是玛莎·詹姆斯。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)