Filthy Mexicans

Posted on: December 14, 2023 at 10:25:46 CT

Hector don't surf!!!

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/surf-s-never-up-anymore-at-this-southern-california-beach/ar-AA1lvcVy?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=a20b2538521d4fb897fdee058263aa1a&ei=57

IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif.—When the swells are breaking just right, Paloma Aguirre, the mayor of this beachside town, loves to grab her bodyboard and catch some waves.

She now has to drive 40 minutes north to get in the water.

For the better part of the past two years, the roughly 4 miles of beachfront in the San Diego County town Aguirre leads has been closed to swimmers by environmental regulators because of constantly high bacterial contamination.

Beaches all along the California coast have been periodically closed for decades due to pollution. But the situation in the San Diego area has become acute, as the combination of rain runoff and contaminated water discharges from neighboring Tijuana and the Tijuana River, which flows into an estuary along the coast just north of the border, combine to shut down some picturesque beaches for weeks at a time.

“I’m a surfer. I’m in love with the beach and I can’t surf in my own town,” Aguirre said.

The problem is spreading as contamination drifts from the border with Mexico northward to beaches along the resort city of Coronado, roughly 16 miles to the north, according to county environmental health officials.

Beaches there have been closed by county officials off and on over the last several months. In November, a local charity surf event there, the Lorton Mitchell Memorial Surf Fest, was canceled. “There was concern about putting the organizing work in only for the event to be called off,” organizers said.

In the heart of Imperial Beach, heavy plastic yellow and red warning signs dot the beach, including in front of rows of oceanfront houses, advising beach goers in English and Spanish of “sewage contaminated water” and warning that “exposure may cause illness.”
County environmental health officials said pollution levels have only worsened in recent years.

Officials monitor the water quality daily and conduct routine rapid tests, according to Heather Buonomo, director of environmental health at the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality.

Buonomo said contamination levels in the dirtiest stretches of monitored water routinely far exceed acceptable levels.

Officials in Coronado have questioned a new testing method used by the county that has prompted recent upticks in county-directed beach closures.

Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey said data from a testing method previously used shows beaches in the city, which includes the historic Hotel del Coronado and Navy training facilities, are as clean as they have been in past years. Nonetheless, he said, the city is eager to see fixes to curb the pollution levels that have plagued beaches to the south.

“We are committed to work with our partners in Imperial Beach and around the region to advocate for doing everything we can to solve this issue for San Diego County,” Bailey said.

Earlier this year, the cities of Imperial Beach and San Diego, along with the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, declared an emergency because of the water pollution. They are pushing California Gov. Gavin Newsom to do the same, hoping a broader declaration would speed up the federal government’s response.

Newsom has been pushing the Biden administration for action and in October applauded an administration budget proposal that includes $310 million for work at a U.S. government-owned water treatment plant just north of the border with Mexico.

The pollution is blamed on ocean discharges of sewage in Mexico, contaminated flows in the Tijuana River and a variety of infrastructure failures in Mexico and the U.S.

“There is a failure in infrastructure on the Mexican side,” said Deborah Mosley, deputy director of the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality. “But in addition to that, there is a South Bay international wastewater treatment plant that is on the U.S. side, right along the border. There have been some significant issues with the maintenance that’s occurred.”

The U.S. plant, owned and operated by the U.S. arm of the International Boundary and Water Commission, routinely discharges only partially treated water, as flows from the Tijuana River exceed its capacity.

IBWC Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner, who was appointed by President Biden in 2021, said her agency has long been underfunded, leaving the San Diego County plant in dire need of repairs and upgrades.

An improvement and repair project is set to begin in the coming months and IBWC officials anticipate significant improvements in plant operations by the end of 2024, Giner said. A bigger expansion effort is also planned, but is contingent on Congress approving the funding Biden asked for earlier this year.

The poor water quality has raised health concerns and inflicted economic damage on beach communities whose local economies thrive on tourism.

During the worst moments, Aguirre and others familiar with the problem said, a stench emanates from the water and at times wafts across much of Imperial Beach, a 4.2-square-mile city that is home to about 26,000 people.

San Diego County officials earlier this year conducted a survey of small businesses in and around Imperial Beach and found two-thirds of respondents reported a loss in revenue.

Martin Mattes, co-owner of Ye Olde Plank Inn, said since buying the beachside bar with his business partner in June 2022, they have seen a 30% to 40% loss of revenue during the day. The nighttime crowd, he said, is the only thing saving his business right now.

“You could probably count on one hand how many times the beach has opened since we bought it. It stinks,” said Mattes, who is also president of the Imperial Beach Chamber of Commerce. “Daytime business used to be booming. Parking spaces used to be filled. I can look outside now and I have eight spaces right there.”

Aguirre said the consistent beach closures have also meant a loss of quality of life for area residents. Summer camps, including a junior lifeguard program for teens, have been canceled or scaled back, along with a variety of other events.

The beaches just to the north of Imperial Beach, where YMCA’s Camp Surf traditionally hosts beach activities, were closed about 80% of last summer. YMCA officials said they have pivoted to moving outings and offering other activities, but the closures have meant fewer campers.

Ericka Rall, 42 years old, a lifelong Imperial Beach resident, last dipped her feet in the water in September 2022 during a shoreline walk. Her leg became infected.

“It looked like bruises on my leg. I had to go to the hospital and had antibiotics for a week, an IV and everything,” said Rall, a bartender and tattoo artist. “I don’t even let my kids or my dog go in the water.”

On a recent Friday, with temperatures in the 60s under a blue sky, only a handful of people walked along the edges of the sand, keeping their distance from the water.

Despite the persistent warnings, about a dozen surfers recently bobbed in the large surf several hundred yards off shore.

“There’s the hard-core little group of surfers that are willing to risk it. But if you look at the data…” Aguirre said, shaking her head as her voice trailed off.