California Mayor Issues Warning Over Mexican Sewage Flooding Beaches

Newsweek

27-05-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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Millions of gallons of sewage, contaminated water and trash flood into California from Mexico every day, and beaches in Coronado, San Diego County, closed over the weekend because of it.
The city's mayor has said it risks becoming seen as the "toilet of Mexico," which could lead to a decrease in tourism.
Why It Matters
The Tijuana River, which crosses from Mexico into California before emptying into the Pacific Ocean, carries not only water but also millions of gallons of untreated sewage.
The decades-old problem has sparked both health and environmental concerns.
A stock image of a girl at a beach in Coronado, California, on October 4, 2023.
A stock image of a girl at a beach in Coronado, California, on October 4, 2023.What To Know
Swimming was prohibited along the Coronado shoreline over Memorial Day weekend as San Diego County extended water contact closures due to ongoing sewage contamination, NBC San Diego reported on Sunday.
The closures—which were already in effect for the Tijuana Slough shoreline, Imperial Beach and the Silver Strand—were expanded on Saturday to include Coronado's southwestern-facing beaches, the outlet said.
Mayor John Duncan told The New York Times that fewer tourists were booking lodges in the resort city as a result of the forced beach closures.
"My biggest concern as mayor is that the reputation as 'the toilet of Mexico' starts to stick at some point and really hurts us," he said.
In recent years, San Diego County beaches have faced about 1,000 days of closures due to contamination. Local residents have reported falling ill, and military personnel stationed in the area have also been affected. A report from the Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General recorded 1,100 illness cases among Navy SEALs and other service members exposed to the polluted waters.
What People Are Saying
James Cooper, a professor at California Western School of Law, previously told Newsweek: "Beaches, north of where the Tijuana River meets the Pacific along the coast from Imperial Beach to Coronado, are closed more often than they are open. The bacterial dangers are immense for those brave enough to get into the Pacific. Surfers who hit the waves, U.S. Navy Seals who train in the area, ranchers whose animals drink water from the watershed, sea mammals who live in the Pacific are all negatively impacted by this ongoing environmental disaster."
What Happens Next
Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said on May 20 that the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission was fast-tracking an expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant—which treats sewage and wastewater flow from Tijuana—by 10 million gallons per day in an effort to mitigate the crisis.
Zeldin previously said that at a meeting on April 21, Mexican Environmental Secretary Alicia Bárcena conveyed President Claudia Sheinbaum's commitment to building a strong partnership with the U.S. to resolve the issue.
"Americans on our side of the border who have been dealing with this for decades are out of patience," Zeldin said at a news conference, as reported by The Epoch Times. "There's a very limited opportunity. What's being communicated by the new Mexican president is an intense desire to fully resolve this situation."