Several beaches in San Diego County have been closed due to high levels of bacteria, health officials said.
A total of four beaches were closed following Saturday’s discovery along the US-Mexico border.
Among them was Imperial Beach, which a study recently crowned the The dirtiest beach in the country. All are considered victims of Tijuana’s damaged infrastructure, as the city continues to dump sewage onto the California side of the border.
Polluted water flows north not only to Imperial Beach, but also to Silver Strand State Beach, Coronado Beach and along the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge, where the Tijuana River meets the Pacific just south of Imperial.
All were closed on Saturday due to the presence of potentially harmful bacteria, as several water contact advisories were issued nearby warning bathers to proceed at their own risk.
Scroll down to watch the video:
Several San Diego County beaches have been closed due to high levels of bacteria, health officials said. Pictured here is a contaminated Imperial Beach
A total of four beaches were closed following the discovery on Saturday along the US-Mexico border, where sewage is leaking from Tijuana.
‘CLOSURE: Bacteria levels exceed health standards,’ said an update from San Diego Coastkeeper Sunday night.
‘Avoid contact with water in the warning area.’
The alert applied to the four beaches mentioned above, which are located within a few miles of each other along the Southern California coast.
There, for miles across the international border, kilos of unprocessed human waste float, while the city of Tijuana continues to grow faster than its infrastructure.
The resulting problem is seen just south of Imperial Beach, near the wildlife refuge, before moving north to Imperial, the Silver Strand State and Coronado.
“In Tijuana, it always seems like they’re fixing the same broken pipe,” environmentalist and former Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina said of the possible cause last year.
“There’s always a broken pipe, there’s always some problem,” Dedina said.
“And the problem now is 365 days a year, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.”
The contamination begins just south of Imperial Beach, near the wildlife refuge, before moving north to Imperial, the Silver Strand State and Coronado.
Experts say the cause is Tijuana’s damaged infrastructure, as the city continues to dump sewage onto the California side of the border.
The politician went on to accuse officials in both Tijuana and Baja California of failing to properly care for the city’s sewage system, to the point where the system essentially collapsed, allowing sewage to enter the U.S. through the river and the surrounding ocean.
“And no one is going to say a word about it,” he said.
Meanwhile, current Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre said the once-popular beach is affected by about 40 million gallons of sewage every day. NBC San Diego Earlier this year: ‘There is everything from heavy metals in the water to chlorinated chemicals and pesticides.
“There are traces of feces in the water,” he added.
“It’s the worst thing you can imagine,” Dedina told the outlet.
‘Untreated human waste’.
“Our local beach here behind me has been closed every day this year,” Aguirre added at the time.
“It’s devastating. We have a whole generation of young people who are now college-aged and don’t know what it’s like to have clean water in their hometown.”
“There are traces of feces in the water,” one local official recently said of the situation. “It’s the worst thing you can imagine,” said another.
“Untreated human waste,” said one official, as local residents continue to accuse authorities in Tijuana and Baja California of failing to properly care for the city’s sewage system. The toxic tide seen in Imperial Beach (seen here) and other nearby shorelines is the result
At the time of writing, all beaches remain closed until sampling confirms those areas are safe for contact.
San Diego County Department of Environmental Health officials are urging the public to avoid contact with the water in the meantime, even though shorelines along Mission Bay North Cove and La Jolla Children’s Pool are not closed but still have bacteria levels that exceed standards.
“Bacteria levels are exceeding health standards. Avoid contact with water in the alert area,” read Sunday’s notices for nearby beaches.
At the time of writing, none of the alerts have been lifted. An update is expected sometime this week.