Families in the South Bay are being asked to share their concerns regarding sewage pollution along the Tijuana River Valley for a health assessment being conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC arrived in the region Thursday to begin the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response, or CASPER, in partnership with the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency. The assessment is intended to gather information about the needs arising due to concerns about toxic air pollution in the South Bay stemming from sewage overflow in the Tijuana River Valley.
More than 6,000 homes previously received flyers informing them about the assessment. Through Saturday, CDC officials, county staff and volunteers will randomly select about 210 homes to interview families about what they're experiencing living near a barrage of toxic sewage that has been known to aerosolize.
"The results can help determine what additional actions to take, find gaps in information, what resources are needed, and understand new or changing needs within the community," the county HHSA said in a news release.
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Nestor resident Angel Aguilar said it's about time.
"It's something that should have been done a long time ago," Aguilar said. "At this point, just get it done, that's what we're hoping for."
The interviews, which are expected to take 15 minutes per household, will be conducted during the following dates and times:
- Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The assessment is a point-in-time analysis of conditions in the South Bay but San Diego County Public Health officials have monitored health effects year-round since being notified in Sept. 2023 of a possible increase in gastrointestinal illnesses in the South Bay. That data is published in a weekly report that tracks the number of GI and asthma or COPD symptoms in south region residents, the county said.
The county says there have been no significant increases in GI illness since their monitoring began. The county also says airborne toxic chemicals are not at unsafe levels, despite increases in smell and some tests by scientists that found high levels of hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen cyanide in the watershed area.
A state of emergency was declared by the County Board of Supervisors in May 2024, which remains in effect to aid with impacts of the ongoing sewage pollution crisis. Meanwhile, local leaders continue their push for state and federal resources to address a binational issue that dates back years.
Years of infrastructure issues at sewage treatment plants on the Mexico side of the border have caused increased flows of sewage to cross into the U.S., which is more than the International Wastewater Treatment Plant on the U.S. side can handle.
For more on the crisis, watch NBC 7's Toxic Tide.
Toxic Tide: The sewage crisis at the border
NBC 7 investigates the millions of gallons of raw sewage crossing from Tijuana into the United States every day, including how the crisis affects our health — and what must be done to end it.
