By the thousands, South San Diego households have told health officials they believe the air quality is unsafe.
A Jan. 6 report that pulls from a community health survey found that 77% of South Bay residents consider the Tijuana River Valley pollution and ocean sewage a threat to public health in the region.
The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA), with assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), conducted a Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response, or CASPER, last fall.
“We are grateful to all the residents who took part in the CASPER survey and for the partnership with the CDC in getting this done,” said Ankita Kadakia, the county interim public health officer, in a statement on Jan. 16. “These results validate the concerns residents of the South Bay have been voicing and the real impacts the sewage contamination is having on people’s lives, physical and mental health.”
The agencies collected data from a total of 189 households randomly surveyed in an area with more than 40,000 households.
“The information gathered from households revealed a profound awareness of the Tijuana River sewage crisis, highlighting the pervasive impact on daily life, health concerns, and well-being,” says the county’s report. “While most households are aware of the situation, many continue to risk exposure.”
Ongoing work between the county’s Public Health Services department and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) surrounding the Tijuana River Valley sewage since May 2024 helped bring about an Assessment of Chemical Exposure (ACE), another survey last year which was completed early last month, according to Kadakia.
Those results will follow the CASPER report, which urged further study of residents’ concerns.
CDC to study air quality
Earlier this month, the CDC agreed to investigate the health impacts of border pollution with a primary focus on air quality.
Mandy Cohen, CDC director and ATSDR administrator, said the agencies will assess levels of hydrogen sulfide in the air near the Tijuana River and will analyze its harm to people’s health.
In a Jan. 7 letter addressed to Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, Cohen said they also will look at whether toxicity in water and sediment calls for further public health evaluations.
Padilla and other congressional leaders had asked the CDC to investigate the impact of Mexican wastewater pollution on residents of Imperial Beach, Coronado and San Diego in a letter delivered to Cohen last May.
More than 16,000 requests to improve air quality, followed by 11,000 requests to improve water quality, were documented in the CASPER.
According to the CASPER report, whose surveys were conducted in October 2024, 72% of households reported a foul odor indoors, outdoors and in their neighborhood during the prior month. More than 69% said the smell was strongest after dark.
The CDC had not responded to an inquiry about the findings as of Jan. 17.
In a Jan. 10 statement, Padilla said the CDC’s commitment to investigating the health impacts of hydrogen sulfide is “an important step in addressing the public health and environmental crises that have plagued the Tijuana River Valley region for far too long.”
“I’m encouraged the CDC is conducting further research to better understand the full scope of the harm to public health from this crisis,” Rep. Scott Peters, D-California, said in a statement. “I will continue to monitor the progress of this study and how to best protect our communities.”
Cohen said the CDC’s report will be released to the public, but she did not say when.
Secured funding
More than $650 million in federal funds have been earmarked for repairs and expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant.
On Oct. 29, the IBWC announced a years-long project to expand and rehabilitate the San Ysidro plant, doubling treatment capacity and reducing transboundary flows of untreated sewage by 90%.
Meanwhile, members of the San Diego congressional delegation said replacement of Mexico’s San Antonio de los Buenos treatment plant in Tijuana is expected to be completed by spring 2025, further reducing the amount of wastewater carried to San Diego County’s shoreline by northerly currents.
