"Political gridlock has allowed the situation to worsen for decades"
"I stand at the mouth of the Tijuana River—a Stygian cesspool that flows 120 miles north from Baja California, through the working-class city of Tijuana with its hundreds of factories manufacturing gadgets for American consumers—before crossing the US-Mexico border. The river meanders through south San Diego’s frontline communities and Southern California’s largest estuary before emptying into the Pacific Ocean on what would otherwise be one of San Diego’s iconic beaches, famous for surfers and sunsets. A yellow warning sign reads “Keep Out.”
“This is one of the most beautiful beaches in all of California,” says Ángel Granados, a filmmaker and lecturer in TV, film, and new media studies at San Diego State University. He is married to SDSU associate professor Paula Stigler Granados, an environmental health scientist making waves for her research and advocacy over the befouled river. “There's a stark difference in the feeling of being here—seeing the waves and the salt spray in the air—and knowing how polluted that water is with sewage, toxic chemicals from industrial runoff or dumping, and pathogens that are being aerosolized.”
He hands me a gas mask.
This beach has been closed for more than 1,500 days due to fecal bacteria creating unsafe conditions for surfers, beachcombers, and casual visitors alike. The earliest complaints about sewage reaching Imperial Beach occurred in 1933 when Tijuana’s population was 14,000 (today it is 2.3 million), making this the United States’ longest-lasting ongoing public health crisis. And that is only north of the border."
Wendee Nicole reports with Text and photographs February 13, 2026.
