Toxic sewage regularly spills into the Tijuana River, creating a foul-smelling mess and health concerns for people living in the Tijuana River Valley.
"My lungs, shortness in breath, my throat burns, my eyes, my headaches," Gabriel Uribe ran down a litany of concerns after five years of living right next to the river.
Hearing neighbors' yearslong cries for help, the city of San Diego's storm water crews took action Wednesday, completing what city officials say is the installation of riprap, or large rocks, to address the odor issues in the Tijuana River Valley.
“They're just hiding the beast,” Uribe said. “It's not stopping the smell. It's not doing anything. I don't know what the whole purpose was. It's still splashing."
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
City officials tell NBC 7 that the rock project is part of an attempt to reduce splashing caused by contaminated river flow that's believed to be exacerbating the area's odor problems.
In an effort to address concerns from regulatory agencies relayed by the county and the Air Pollution Control District, an independent agency with jurisdiction over air quality issues, city engineers proposed the boulders as a fix.
Back in September, NBC 7 was at the river site off Saturn Blvd, where the boulders are now in place. UC San Diego researcher Dr. Kim Prather was there testing the air quality. She says it measured some of the highest levels of hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas, in the area.
Local
Prather says she wasn’t consulted, noting she’s not sure and that only time will tell if the rocks work.
“Anytime you have that cascade of water, gases, aerosols, all that stuff gets out," Prather said. "So if there's a way to break up that turbulence, that would definitely make a huge difference in the short term."
Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre has been fighting for state and federal help with the sewage crisis and says she appreciates the city of San Diego's efforts.
"Them taking action, every bit helps while we continue to wait for an emergency declaration," Aguirre said.
She says an emergency declaration could help waive permits, allowing for larger scale projects.
“We need a lot more federal intervention," Aguirre said. "What the city of San Diego is doing should be replicated at a very large scale so that we can begin to see relief in the harm that our communities are experiencing.”
For now, that toxic tide of chemical foam isn't as visible in the water where the rocks were installed.
"I’m skeptical about all this," Uribe said. "This is just a little band-aid on a terrible cut. It's not going to solve the issue. They need to stop that from flowing."
Uribe and researchers are looking forward to seeing the data from the air quality machine soaring high over his yard.
Aguirre says she's headed to the White House next week to ask President Joe Biden to issue a disaster declaration or executive order to speed up efforts to fix the sewage crisis.
This article originally stated that the Air Pollution Control District was an agency operated by San Diego County, when, in fact, it is an independent agency — Ed.
