DATE:
June 24, 2025
10
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
ADVANCING REGIONAL ACTIONS TO ADDRESS THE TIJUANA RIVER SEWAGE AND WAIVE BOARD POLICY A-72 (DISTRICTS: ALL)
OVERVIEW
This year's budget reflects the harsh fiscal reality facing cities and counties across California. County staff have worked to deliver a balanced budget despite inflation, economic pressures, and continued federal instability. But while the budget meets our legal obligation, it does not meet every community need, particularly for families living on the frontlines of environmental pollution.
Nowhere is that gap more visible than in the Tijuana River Valley and our coastal communities, where residents continue to face the fallout of recurring sewage spills, toxic air, and industrial waste. Our Congressional delegation secured $650 million to upgrade the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, a major step forward. But construction will take years, and the project addresses only part of the broader contamination problem. In the meantime, millions of gallons of polluted runoff continue to flood into our region, and our residents are left to shoulder the consequences.
Alongside water contamination, dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide continue to pose a serious public health risk for residents in the Tijuana River Valley and surrounding communities. This toxic gas, released from decaying sewage and industrial waste, has been linked to headaches, respiratory irritation, and long-term health concerns. Families have reported nausea and fatigue, schools have raised alarms, and frontline neighborhoods continue to bear the brunt.
In response, the County and the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District are purchasing 10,000 air purifiers to help reduce indoor exposure-but this is a temporary stopgap, not a systemic fix. Without deeper investments in monitoring, mitigation, and long-term health protections, the crisis will only escalate. This is not an infrastructure nuisanc...
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