IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. — There's mounting concerns from South Bay communities over the delayed cleanup of the Tijuana River Valley, as more rain threatens the area.
A field near the wastewater treatment facility near the border was inundated with raw sewage and tons of trash during the January 22 floods. Six weeks later, debris still litters the area.
CBS 8 reached out to the wastewater treatment plant, tasked with cleaning it up, and they say a plan is underway to address the issue.
Weeks after a powerful storm dumped sewage and trash in this field near the Tijuana River Valley, litter is still scattered everywhere across the area.
“It’s in the air as well as the water. It doesn’t just affect us, the tide goes both ways," said concerned resident, Jason Neagles.
People who live nearby say the acres of plastic, tires, and debris – which is ending up in the ocean, is not just an eyesore, but a public health and environmental issue, too.
“It’s absolutely frustrating not being able to go in the water. It’s been hundreds of days that the beaches have been closed consequentially. This is an issue that unfortunately needs to be solved federally," added Neagles, who lives in Imperial Beach.
The aftermath of recent storms left the field resembling a landfill, with foul-smelling sewage affecting those nearby.
“It’s going to be a multiple jurisdiction effort and it's got to be an international effort to solve the issue," he said.
The International Boundary and Water Commission, the agency in charge of cleaning the site, sent a statement to CBS 8:
"We are going to be deploying staff and equipment from one of our Rio Grande offices to San Diego to remove the trash from the area along the north Tijuana River levee by Dairy Mart Road. One of our Texas managers was on site last month to assess the clean-up needs and develop the plan. We have determined that we need the area to dry out more to prevent the equipment from getting bogged down. We plan to deploy our team as soon as weather conditions permit."
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