Conduct CDC Public Health Study on Transboundary Pollution Crisis in Tijuana Watershed

Surfrider and our 50+ coalition partners are urging the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigate the alarming health impacts of pollution in the Tijuana River.

Surfrider’s decades-long Clean Border Water Campaign is aimed at reviving this waterway, however the complexity and scale of the pollution crisis in the Tijuana River Valley Watershed demand immediate federal intervention. The CDC’s involvement is crucial to provide a comprehensive understanding of how water and air pollution from the Tijuana River affect nearby communities, and can support local task forces and researchers dedicated to this crisis. CDC efforts can also inform efforts to protect public health in the short-term. 

Research by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography has already attributed 34,000  illnesses in 2017 to water quality pollution along the City of Imperial Beach coastline in the County of San Diego. Even the air is known to be thick with contaminants: researchers also linked up to 76 percent of bacteria in local air quality to cross-border water pollution. Data from medical clinics in the City of Imperial Beach shows a significant increase in cases of diarrhea and other intestinal problems during significant cross-border flow sewage events. These public health concerns were extensively cited at a Coastal Commission meeting in Imperial Beach in late 2023.

To support this request, Surfrider supported CA Senate Joint Resolution 18, introduced by Senator Padilla, which passed in the CA legislature in the summer of 2024.