South Bay residents urged to stay indoors as heat worsens sewage smell, creating health risk

CHULA VISTA, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — Residents in South Bay know the effects of San Diego’s cross-border sewage crisis well. The beaches are closed to swimming and the smell of sewage wafts over the neighborhoods, forcing many to shut their windows amid the record-high temperatures that are scorching Southern California this week.

But a new warning from health officials is out as the heat is worsening the smell of sewage across San Diego’s South Bay region.

Millions of gallons of raw sewage flows across the border from Mexico into the U.S. everyday , and residents in Bonita, Chula Vista, Otay Mesa, Imperial Beach, Lincoln Acres, and National City are being impacted by the health crisis that stems from it and has been ongoing for years.

On Sunday, the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District said inspectors have found the heat is magnifying the sewage smell in the Tijuana River Valley and in surrounding communities.

The air pollution department is now urging residents who smell strong odors to limit their outdoor activity and to remain indoors when possible as breathing in the raw sewage can cause adverse health effects.

San Diego County Public Health Services this past spring launched a new website to monitor gastrointestinal illnesses caused from the raw sewage flowing into South Bay waters.

The cross-border pollution from the plant has caused more than 900 days of continuous beach closures in Imperial Beach. The beaches in Coronado have also been adversely affected.

The air pollution department said they will continue to monitor the air quality situation in South Bay amid the heat warnings and will keep the public informed.

Meanwhile, Baja California officials say a new wastewater treatment plant being built in Mexico is expected to drastically reduce the amount of sewage that makes it to the ocean when it is finished this fall.

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