Why this matters
Pollution in the Tijuana River has for decades impacted communities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. As officials seek solutions, the public health crisis continues to plague residents.
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency visited the San Diego border for the second time in 10 months on Thursday to get a closer look at the Tijuana River sewage crisis that has closed beaches and caused health problems for residents, Navy SEALs and others for years.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin met with local politicians and small business owners in the South Bay, accompanied by Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler. At a news conference in Coronado, Zeldin summarized efforts to date, and added that several projects in Mexico are slated to be finished this year, including a critical sanitation pipeline Mexico agreed to complete in 2026.
“Progress has already started, and we will stay on top of Mexico to make sure that they all get done,” Zeldin said.
Zeldin toured the Tijuana River valley in his first trip to San Diego in April when he met with elected officials and SEALs, toured the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant and traveled over the Southern border by helicopter to see the valley from the sky.
On that trip, he also met with Mexican officials on behalf of the Trump administration to begin a process that led to a new agreement between the U.S. and Mexico in December.
The agreement renewed commitments made by the Biden administration, and added additional provisions such as a binational sewage monitoring system as well as plans to account for future population growth in the region.
Over the last several decades, billions of gallons of untreated wastewater laced with chemicals have flowed into the Tijuana River and into the Pacific Ocean, plaguing communities along the way and up the coast, including Coronado.
Toxic gasses emanating from the river have also contaminated the air in the South Bay, impacting schools and neighborhoods near the river.
Last year inewsource carried out a months-long investigation into the chronic public health impacts related to the sewage, interviewing more that 100 people living and working in the Tijuana River valley. Nearly all complained of gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms or had family members or friends who have gotten sick and attributed their illnesses to the pollution.
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inewsource interviewed 100 people in San Diego’s South Bay communities about how pollution from sewage spills is making some people sick.
Following the investigation and calls from doctors, scientists and advocates, San Diego County government officials committed to funding a multi-year epidemiological study of the long-term effects of exposure to toxicants from the river.
The county will also work to repair what’s been called a “hotspot” in the river known to be aerosolizing pollutants, sending chemicals into the air and exacerbating problems.
County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, who has called for changes for years, first as mayor of Imperial Beach and more recently on the Board of Supervisors, was not initially invited to Zeldin’s planned events this week.
She sent a letter to Zeldin on Wednesday offering to host a meeting with impacted community members and then, instead, agreed to a private meeting with the EPA administrator. Aguirre, who represents the South Bay, published her letter on Instagram.
After her meeting, Aguirre told inewsource that her conversation with Zeldin was productive, and she praised his efforts toward addressing the sources of the pollution crisis.
“The most important thing that I wanted to make very clear to him, and I think it was well received,” Aguirre said, “is that all of these efforts are very appreciated but they’re longer term solutions that won’t bring the immediate relief that our residents who are suffering need.”
Aguirre said that she flagged several projects to him that she believes the federal government should prioritize, including diverting and treating the river entirely on the U.S. side of the border. She highlighted county efforts to address impacts of the Saturn Boulevard hotspot and to study economic impacts on businesses in the region.
Aguirre said she and Zeldin agreed that transparency between all parties involved on both sides of the border is critical for long-lasting solutions.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
