San Diego’s southernmost beaches are blighted by sewage that spills into the cross-border Tijuana River and flows to the ocean. Before 2022, the best available coastal water testing technology took so long to furnish results that public health officials couldn’t surmise how safe the water was until days after visitors swam in it.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan got a first-hand look Friday at the Tijuana River Valley, where hundreds of millions of gallons of water laced with raw sewage, trash and industrial chemicals regularly foul San Diego shorelines, shuttering beaches as far north as Coronado.
“You know, you can read about these things and have your own visualization, but seeing it first-hand really is impactful,” said Regan, the first EPA administrator to tour the local border region.
San Diego County beaches earned nearly one-fourth of the spots on Heal the Bay’s annual Honor Roll for excellent year-round water quality, according to the environmental group report released Tuesday.
According to Santa Monica-based Heal the Bay, 42 out of more than 500 beaches across the state earned spots on the Honor Roll, which is reserved for beaches that score grades of A+ for water quality during all seasons and weather conditions.
Of those 42 beaches, 20 are in Orange County, the most for any county in the state. San Diego County has 10 beaches on the list, including five in Carlsbad. Los Angeles County has three — Palos Verdes Cove, Palos Verdes Long Point and Redondo State Beach at Topaz Street.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
