South Bay school districts want action on Tijuana River crisis 

School districts in southern San Diego County are calling on government officials to urgently address sewage pollution in the Tijuana River.

More than 100 billion gallons of toxic waste, including untreated sewage, from Mexico have flowed through the Tijuana River Valley to San Diego’s coast over the last five years, a new report by San Diego State University researchers found. The pollution has cut off access for predominantly Latino beach communities — the main stretch of Imperial Beach, for example, has been closed for more than two years.

Now, the Sweetwater Union High and South Bay Union districts, which serve children in neighborhoods near the pollution, have each sent letters beginning in February asking Gov. Gavin Newsom, Rep. Juan Vargas and President Joe Biden to proclaim a state of emergency. 

The Chula Vista Elementary School District also plans on proposing a similar item at next month’s board meeting. 

Mary Doyle, an Imperial Beach resident and former South Bay Union board member, has been encouraging school districts across South County to issue the proclamations.

Doyle said people require basic needs such as clean air, water and good health — and that the sewage crisis impacts all of those things. 

“Before kids can start learning, they need the basics,” she said in an interview. “What kind of legacy are we giving?”

SDSU researchers said antibiotic-resistant bacteria and other concerning pathogens once assumed to have been eradicated in California have been discovered in the water. Last year, contamination was so severe that it prompted a boil water advisory for three days in parts of Imperial Beach because of the presence of E. Coli was found in the drinking water. 

The potential for residents to contract an acute infectious disease and a chronic health condition is high, “indicating a public health crisis” with possible long-term effects on the society, economy and health of individuals, the SDSU report said. Children, seniors, outdoor workers and pregnant women are especially at risk.

But the contamination doesn’t just affect the water in the region. Toxic chemicals and bacteria from the wastewater can be airborne and remain in soils, according to researchers — meaning the problem “may have much larger and farther reaching environmental health impacts.”

School officials said the situation needs state and federal intervention because it cannot be addressed locally. Funding for infrastructure and mitigation is necessary to protect the health and safety of students, staff and community members, they said. 

“We must have partners from the state and federal government,” Sweetwater Union Board member Marti Emerald said during a meeting last week. “That’s why we are bringing this resolution forward so we can join the other many responsible and concerned voices that want this offense to our environment and our public health to stop.”

A group of state lawmakers have sponsored a resolution requesting $310 million to repair and expand the wastewater plant straddling the U.S.-Mexico border.  

The resolution awaits a vote from the state Senate.