IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. — A massive amount of sewage and trash is moving through the Tijuana River Valley and to the San Diego County coast.
People who live in Imperial Beach say it’s getting harder to deal with the amount of sewage and trash left behind after each storm.
“We live with it, it’s a generational problem," said longtime Imperial Beach resident, Jose Corral.
Imperial Beach resident Damian Miller said he struggles to breathe in the area oftentimes.
“You can’t breathe, you can’t run," he said.
“I run along the Tijuana River floodplain, so I see the pollution. I experience the floods; I experience the aftermath you see the garbage," added Corral.
CBS 8 first captured what the Tijuana River Valley looked like after a powerful storm sent an estimated 14.5 billion gallons of raw sewage into California.
As of Thursday night — more than two weeks later — the scene is almost identical. The most recent storms have left behind a sea of plastic bottles, containers, and so many other items.
Corral says the sewage crisis has been an ongoing problem for decades.
“It rains and we know the beach is going to be closed," he said. "That’s part of being a resident of Imperial Beach."
He says the problem is devastating South Bay communities like Imperial Beach.
“This is like the last remaining community where it still feels like a small community, Imperial Beach. And it’s due to the fact that the beach can’t be open all the time," added Corral.
Last week, CBS 8 reported South Bay Urgent Care doctors were seeing a direct correlation between massive sewage flows and an increased number of people with gastrointestinal illnesses.
A delegation of local leaders, including Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, went to Capitol Hill to raise awareness about the pollution.
However, for many, there's no end in sight.
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