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Tijuana River Sewage Pollution Shutters Beaches as far North as Coronado

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune by Joshua Emerson Smith

Beaches were closed on Tuesday from the Mexico border to Coronado as rain flushed sewage-contaminated runoff from Tijuana into the San Diego region.

Millions of gallons of polluted water have been regularly flowing over the border through the Tijuana River for months. The southern shoreline in Imperial Beach has been closed since November as a result.

“Things have gotten worse than ever,” said Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina. “Over the last three months, the levels of pollution are astronomical. We’ve never seen anything like it.”

Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Military May be Bound by State Laws on ‘Forever Chemicals’

/in , /by /Bloomberg Environmentby Travis J. Tritten

The Pentagon may be forced to follow new state environmental pollution standards for a family of manmade “forever chemicals” that may have been spilled at hundreds of military sites in the U.S., Defense Secretary Mark Esper told lawmakers. Esper was pressed Wednesday at a House Armed Services Committee hearing over the military’s use of widely used firefighting foam containing chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, that never degrade.

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San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer to Leave More Than $1 billion in Polluted Rivers, Flood Issues to Successor

/in , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Joshua Emerson Smith

Rainstorms routinely flush toxic chemicals, bacteria and even human feces through San Diego’s streets, canyons and rivers — ultimately polluting bays and beaches.

Those same downpours also regularly burst city stormwater pipes and overwhelm clogged waterways, inundating homes and businesses.

Under San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer the city laid out what it would cost to fix the problem — a financial blueprint over two decades for preventing undue flooding and coming into compliance with state mandates under the Clean Water Act.

 

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Port of San Diego Adopts Resolution Urging Federal Action on Tijuana River Valley Pollution

/in , /by /The Log (San Diego)by Lindsey Glasgow

The Port of San Diego has adopted a joint resolution recommending actions for the federal government to take to eliminate transboundary flows in the Tijuana River Valley. The Port is the state-designated trustee of public resources in and around Imperial Beach, which includes the ocean waters just off the Imperial Beach Pier, an area that is frequently impacted by toxic, sewage polluted water.

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Polluted Stormwater is Fouling L.A. Beaches. Little Has Been Done About It, Report Finds

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Colleen Shalby

California’s storms do plenty of good, including replenishing the state’s water supply by filling its reservoirs and dampening the risk of wildfires. But the rainwater runoff also carries heavy pollutants that wash directly onto the shore, creating a toxic mix that’s unsafe for beachgoers. Anyone who’s visited a beach after it rains has encountered such stormwater pollution, the unfiltered trash that piles onto the sand after flowing from rooftops, sidewalks and streets, picking up a trail of pesticides, bacteria, oil and grease before traveling through the storm drains.

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Regional Agencies to Vote That Federal Government Must Act on Tijuana River Valley

/in , , /by /San Diego Community News Group

Continuing their push to end a decades-long environmental crisis, San Diego regional leaders announced today that several agencies and local cities will vote to recommend actions for the federal government to take to eliminate transboundary flows in the Tijuana River Valley.

The resolution – to be adopted by several city councils and boards over the next several weeks – solidifies the most urgent needs that regional leaders request from the federal level to address the underlying causes of the sewage, sediment, and trash that have contaminated San Diego land and waterways for decades.

Read more: San Diego Community News Group – Regional agencies to vote that federal government must act on Tijuana River Valley

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EPA to California: You’re Also ‘Failing’ to Meet Water Pollution Standards

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Alexa Diaz and Anna M. Phillips

The Trump administration warned California officials Thursday that the state is “failing” to meet federal water quality standards, the latest move in the president’s escalating political feud with the state’s liberal leaders.

In a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler threatened possible enforcement action if the state did not improve the way it deals with lead, arsenic and human waste in its water.

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Cancer-Causing Chemical Taints Water After California Blaze

/in , /by /AP News

The drinking water in Paradise, California, where 85 people died last year in the nation’s worst wildfire in a century, is contaminated with the cancer-causing chemical benzene, officials said. Officials said they believe the contamination happened after the November firestorm created a toxic combination of gases in burning homes that got sucked into the water pipes as residents and firefighters drew water heavily, the Sacramento Bee newspaper reported Thursday. Officials say that may explain why benzene, which has been linked to anemia and leukemia, has been found in tests at various spots rather than from one source in Paradise, which was largely destroyed.

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Local Elementary School Finds Increased Lead In Drinking Water

/in , /by /FOX 5 San Diego

Water from drinking fountains at a local elementary school tested for lead levels higher than district-mandated limits, officials announced. Parents at Juarez Elementary School in the Serra Mesa area were notified of the test results in a letter this week. District officials noted that the lead levels discovered actually fell below state and national legal requirements, but failed to meet the more stringent standard enforced by San Diego Unified School District. Federal law requires lead levels under 15 parts per billion, while the district enforces a limit of less than 5 parts per billion. Six different water outlets at Juarez Elementary, including five drinking fountains and one faucet, tested above the 5 ppb requirement.

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San Diego Says Number of Lead Service Lines in City Likely Less Than 1%

/in , /by /NBC San Diegoby Tom Jones

San Diego’s Public Utilities Department is responding quickly to recent reports on the possibility of the city’s water lines being made out of lead. Last week, as reported by NBC 7, San Diego’s Water Department had informed California’s Water Board that it couldn’t identify the materials used to make two-thirds of its service lines. The city’s disclosure differed from statements it had made to NBC 7 and media partner Voice of San Diego last year. At that time, a senior water department chemist said there were no lead pipes in the city’s distribution system.

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