10 San Diego beach have been shut down due to high bacteria levels – caused by Mexico dumbing 5 million gallons of raw sewage into California each day.
Which means the bacteria from the raw sewage is now spreading north up the coastline.
Many are blaming California Governor Gavin Newsom, who signed SB507 in 2020, which decommissioned pumps and lift stations, allowing sewage to flow into the United States via the Tijuana river valley.
The closures come after dangerously high bacteria levels that exceed state health standards were detected.
Local health advisories warn that water quality tests show bacterial levels show fecal contamination far above the state’s safe threshold of 104 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters – and are recording levels that are more than 400 units, posing severe risks of gastrointestinal illness, skin infections, and other waterborne diseases.
The untreated waste flows through the Tijuana River Valley into the Pacific Ocean, directly impacting San Diego’s coastal areas. Environmental experts attribute the surge to the ongoing failure of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, which has been under repair since a major breakdown in 2020.
That’s when Newsom signed SB 807 – doing away with the stations that diverted some of the sewage flow coming into the U.S. – experts say this has allowed that sewage to flow directly into San Diego beaches unchecked – leaving the region and people vulnerable.
