SAN DIEGO — The CDC will be in town Thursday through Sunday to conduct community pollution assessments in the Tijuana River Valley. They plan to speak with randomly selected households to learn what health issues people are experiencing that could be caused by the sewage.
"A lot of people are like I have breathing issues and it has gotten worse. Or I can't even take my dogs outside that kind of thing," said Alex Alviso, an Imperial Beach resident.
CBS 8 reported this summer when South Bay families raised concerns over the strong odor, air quality issues and toxic gases linked to the sewage.
"My wife and my kids they would say they got sick. The heat it seemed like it would bring it up more," said Ramon, an IB resident.
Ramon has lived in Imperial Beach for more than 30 years.
"It hasn't always been that bad. It seems like this summer it got bad," he said.
Now the CDC is partnering with San Diego County officials. They'll be conducting a community survey Thursday through Sunday at households throughout the areas near the Tijuana River Valley.
It's unclear the specific questions that will be asked but we’re told it will focus on changes in health and daily activities people may have experienced as a result of being exposed to the polluted water and air.
"We're grateful to have the CDC's intervention down here. My understanding is it's the first type of assessment they've done in the county ever, if not in a long time," said Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre.
She is hopeful the assessment can paint a bigger picture of what's going on. She hears health complaints from residents on a daily basis. This includes reports of upper respiratory, gastrointestinal illness, asthma, chronic migraines and chest pains.
"Data will help, having empirical evidence will help us make our case to the state administration and federal administration that this is indeed a state of emergency, a public health crisis," she said.
County health officials are encouraging community members to speak up during this time and voice their concerns.