California is home to three of the most polluted beaches in the country, according to a new report.
The Surfrider Foundation tested thousands of water samples across the country, with Imperial Beach in San Diego coming out on top.
As part of the group’s research, they also found that 64 percent of the 567 locations tested had at least one sample with unsafe bacteria levels.
A quarter of the samples came from locations in California, with three beaches in The Golden State among the ten most polluted.
Each sample recovered from Imperial Beach revealed bacteria counts that exceeded the state’s health standard for recreational water.
According to new findings from the Surfrider Foundation, which tested thousands of water samples across the country, San Diego’s Imperial Beach, seen here, was the worst
More than 100 billion gallons of untreated sewage has flowed through Mexico’s Tijuana River into the Pacific Ocean, eventually reaching the coastal city.
The beach has been closed for more than two years as toxic, untreated water from the Tijuana River watershed flows into the Pacific Ocean before reaching the city.
Mayor Paloma Aguirre has urged Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency.
She told me LA times: ‘People in my community are getting sick left and right.
“We cannot afford to continue to pass the buck across the border because we have a dire situation here on American soil, on Californian soil, that is hurting California voters.”
Residents living near the beach say they are experiencing health problems due to the cross-border sewage problem.
In March, resident Shannon Johnson, who has lived a few blocks from the beach since 2010, said she and her children no longer set foot on the sand.
Johnson told CBS, “Every time we go by the beach, they ask, ‘Will it be clean?’ When are they going to fix it?’
In letters from community members calling for action, one resident said the smell is “like being stuck in a portable toilet,” so strong it wakes them up at night.
Even though Imperial Beach has had beach closures for more than 700 days in a row, residents continue to suffer the consequences of pollution every day.
Johnson said her young children have also been exposed to the foul odor while attending school near the river valley.
“They say, ‘Why does it smell so bad?’ Is it safe?’ I’m like, yeah, I think so. What should I tell them?’ she said.
She herself said, after suffering two unexplained pulmonary embolisms and other health problems, “In the back of my mind I wonder if it has something to do with the air I breathe.”
According to a study from San Diego State University, heavy metals, toxic chemicals and bacteria found in water are released into the air and remain in the soil.
“I’ve been more frustrated than ever since we found out it was going up in the air. So it’s not just the water,” another resident told CBS.
In letters from community members calling for action, one resident said the smell is “like being stuck in a portable toilet,” so strong it wakes them up at night.
The other heavily contaminated sites in California include Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica, where the study found more than half of samples contained unsafe levels of bacteria.
At the mouth of San Luis Obispo Creek, in San Luis Obispo, 35 percent of samples showed high levels of bacteria.
Mara Dias, the foundation’s senior manager for the Clean Water Initiative, told the Times, “Any creek that flows through an urban area is certainly going to be susceptible to similar sources of pollution, road runoff, sewage infrastructure problems, and that sort of thing.” pet waste’. it was handled well.
Mayor Paloma Aguirre has urged Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency
“It’s when they discharge into the ocean where people are recreating that’s where it’s particularly problematic.”
Normally, ocean water is mostly clean, except after it rains and runoff and rainwater ends up on the beach.
Dias advised beachgoers to get in the water 72 hours after it rains in California, pay attention to pollution advisories and rinse off after swimming.