After a string of powerful storms hit the southwest in recent weeks, beaches near the U.S.-Mexico border have been forced to close, as raw sewage from Mexico has been pushed into the area.
The latest beaches to close down are in Imperial Beach, California, and the city’s mayor Paloma Aguirre told Border Report that the issue has been happening for some time.
“The dystopian nightmare the people of Imperial Beach experience on a daily basis due to constant failing sewage infrastructure, is unparalleled anywhere in this nation,” Aguirre shared on Twitter. “It is by far one of the worst environmental injustices any community in America is facing.”
Aguirre also shared that the area’s watershed is not only being hit with sewage from Mexico, but also trash, tires, and other debris.
“Because of the nature of our watershed, there’s an incredible amount of flow coming from across the border with trash, tires, and sewage polluting not just our recreational valley but also the beaches,” Aguirre said.
In total, Aguirre says her stretch of the coast has been hit with “seven billion gallons of raw sewage” from Mexico, forcing the city to cover its coast with signs warning people not to get in the water.
While the amount of runoff to hit Imperial Beach is already extraordinary, it isn’t expected to stop anytime soon for the first coastal city north of the border, Border Report reported.
The outlet shared that more storm runoff is expected to come from Tijuana and stream into the Tijuana River Valley, north of the border.
“It’s getting worse before it gets any better. That’s the bottom line,” Aguirre said.
Agencies have started to look at the situation. Among them is the Environmental Protection Agency, which pledged more than $300 million in funding to mitigate the problem in the area, Voice of San Diego reported when it was announced last year.
Aguirre says the funding will be used to “improve infrastructure” and “reduce beach closures.” However, that won’t happen immediately, as she says it “takes time because it has to go through a legal process that’s going to take a few more years before we can see shovels in the ground.”
On top of the time it will take from her city to make adjustments, Aguirre also says the issue won’t be solved unless Mexico addresses its issues with the Punta Bandera sewage plant, which has been offline for a few years, releasing it into the ocean without being treated.
After the sewage flows freely through the down plant, it pushes north toward Imperial Beach and other cities on the coast.
“The Mexican Government has committed $144 million to fix sewage treatment infrastructure south of the border, but its number one priority is fixing Punta Bandera,” Aguirre said.
Related
Related
