Sewage on the Beach: Pollution’s Widespread Effect on California’s Border City

Imperial Beach, California—the southernmost city on the West Coast—is home to an iconic pier, a bustling and diverse community, and for the past several years, millions of gallons of pollution.

In Tijuana—Mexico’s rapidly growing border town—a lack of waste regulation has led to raw sewage and chemicals being funneled directly into the Tijuana River. According to a report by the California Coastal Commission, an average of 10 million gallons of wastewater is being dumped into the Tijuana River from the Tijuana metropolitan area every day.

In California, a wastewater treatment plant left in disrepair for decades also dumps sewage into this river, which then flows into the ocean around the two cities. Recently, senators have secured federal funding to repair the plant, but construction is only beginning, and the community still lives with the pollution left behind.

Residents say seals and fish once swam around Imperial Beach and the coastline was lively with people. Today, the shores of Imperial Beach remain mostly empty.

Not only does the pollution affect the water and recreation, but it’s had a domino effect on the largely Hispanic residents and community of Imperial Beach. Residents say it just “started with a bad smell.” Progressively, it’s gotten worse. Businesses continue to slow down, fishermen are catching less and less, and people have fallen sick as studies show that diseases from the pollutants have been infecting the air and soil.

Reporting Fellow Katerina Portela speaks to residents, politicians, health officials, and environmental activists to report on the consequences of the worsening pollution on the people of Imperial Beach as solutions slowly begin and the activism from the community incites change.