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 to the region Thursday to begin the assessment 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.
Over the last few weeks, more than 6,000 homes were expected to receive flyers informing them of the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response, or CASPER, Volunteers wearing reflective vests will begin distributing the flyers door-to-door on Oct. 3.
Then the CDC arrived to continue their assessment. The team will be going door-to-door to interview families about what they're experiencing living near a barrage of toxic sewage that has been known to aerosolize.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
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 County of San Diego said more than 200 households will then be selected to be interviewed by the CDC. The responses are analyzed and used by public health officials to make decisions about health actions to take, what resources are needed and more.
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.
WATCH NBC 7's special '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.
