3 California Beaches Among Dirtiest In The Nation: Guess Which Ones

SAN DIEGO, CA — There's a beach in San Diego County that closes every time it rains due to bacteria in the water. Unlike other shorelines that clear up over time, Imperial Beach rarely is declared healthy enough to swim in.

Imperial Beach is located in South San Diego County, close to the endangered Tijuana River, near the US/Mexico border. Residents say that after it rains, you can smell the sewage. Indeed, the ocean off Imperial Beach is perpetually high in bacteria, due to untreated sewage and chemicals from Mexico, making visitors regularly sick. According to the Surf Rider Foundation's annual Clean Water Report, released in late May, Imperial Beach is the most chronically polluted shore in southern California.

There were 10 most polluted locations across the country, and Imperial Beach was at the top of that list. Three sites in California were among the most polluted.

The most polluted beaches in California are:

1. Imperial Beach, San Diego: 100% Bacteria
2. Linda Mar Beach, Pacifica: 54% Bacteria.
3. San Luis Creek Mouth, San Luis Obispo: 35% Bacteria.

Imperial Beach's 100 percent high bacteria rate, each time it was tested over the past year, has made it a "Priority Blue Water Task Force Beach," according to the foundation. It is considered a "high priority beach" for increased water testing. The only other beach in the nation with 100% failing test scores was the Nāwiliwili Stream, in Hawaii.

"These priority beaches represent a variety of recreational waters and access points that are important to local communities, yet water quality conditions could be putting public health at risk," according to the Surfrider Foundation.

The San Diego County beach, located near Tijuana and the Mexico border, is known as the Tijuana Estuary, the largest coastal wetland in Southern California. The active salt marsh is a nesting ground for 370 bird species.

Still, the water in and around Imperial Beach is pollution-riddled with raw, untreated sewage and other chemicals actively flowing into the Pacific Ocean from the San Antonio de los Buenos Wastewater treatment plant in Mexico. Those transboundary flows of toxic waste and sewage can measure 35- 50 million gallons per day, and Imperial Beach has been shut down for more than 800 consecutive days.

"The Scripps Institute of Oceanography linked 34,000 illnesses in 2017 to water quality pollution along the Imperial Beach coastline," Surfrider Foundation's Sarah Davidson wrote in a recent article. "Another recent study from Scripps revealed that the aerosolization of toxins in the surf is now causing human health effects without any contact with the ocean. People are getting sick just by breathing the air as they go to work, school, and even trying to enjoy their own backyards."

Indeed, residents and the city say that water conditions regularly put the public's health at risk. After years of fevers, nausea, vomiting, and staff infections caused by risking its waters, surfers are starting to seek waves elsewhere.

Imperial Beach residents are tired of seeing beach closure signs on their shores, and even more tired about people hearing the name "Imperial Beach" and just shaking their head, as if nothing can ever be done, according to resident and Surfrider Activist Bethany Case. She discussed the lingering crisis in a recent video, released by the foundation.

"If this public health crisis were happening elsewhere, like La Jolla, or Del Mar, or Solana Beach, or other more affluent parts of San Diego County, it would have been handled years ago," Case said. "There's a serious inequity in beach and coastal access here."

Since last year, Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre and the coalition of Surfrider Foundation-led San Diego County community groups have sought funding to improve an infrastructure solution worth $150 million.

San Diego's congressional delegation secured significant funding intended to make improvements to the treatment plant. This funding includes $156 million for the U.S. International Boundary Water Commission allocated in March and $300 million in 2019 to expand the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant from 25 million gallons per day to 50 million gallons per day.

Residents hope this will significantly change the Imperial Beach Wastewater management plant, but the crisis has been going on for so long that many have given up hope, according to Case. Even a series of lawsuits filed and won have only marginally fixed the issues seen at Imperial Beach, which were made worse by record rainfall and failing infrastructures unable to handle vast runoff from coastal towns.

"This is the biggest health crisis you've never heard of," Case said. "We're calling on the President and Congress to act now and address this national emergency."

Read also:

Imperial Beach Waters Fail To Meet CA Standards Once In 2023: Report | San Diego, CA Patch

Stunning Imperial Beach Sunset: Photos Of The Day | Imperial Beach, CA Patch

Last Surfboard Manufacturer to Leave Imperial Beach | Imperial Beach, CA Patch