S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman. On today's show , another study reveals the raw sewage spilling into waterways in the South Bay is now affecting air quality. We'll talk about the latest. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. You know , you may have noticed over the weekend that Imperial Beach and Coronado's beaches were closed due to this ongoing issue of raw sewage contamination , a problem so widespread. New research led by UCSD , Scripps Institution of Oceanography has confirmed what many South Bay residents have been saying for years that pollution from the Tijuana River affects not just water in the area , but also air. KPBS environment reporter Tammie Murga has been covering this and she joins us live in studio. Tammy. Welcome to midday edition. Hi.
S2: Hi. Thank you for having me.
S1: So glad you're here. So tell us more about this research and what it revealed. Right.
S2: Right. Just to put it in simple terms here , this study shows that polluted water can substantially affect air quality. This finding is focused on what's happening in the two on a river , which , as we know , repeatedly flows with untreated wastewater and toxic chemicals from Tijuana. But it more specifically confirms that the Tijuana River is polluting the air. It's releasing , releasing large amounts of hydrogen sulfide into the air , where a lot of people live. They work , they recreate. And that's a really significant finding , because even though nearby communities have been saying for a really long time that the air that they breathe is making them sick , there hasn't really been anything on paper , something that really identifies and quantifies that these hazardous hazardous gases are causing these odors. Right. And so that make that makes a direct link between these odors and symptoms that people have long reported. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , tell me a bit about this because a specific area was studied for this research. They call it a hotspot. So where is that exactly ? And why is pollution higher there than other areas ? Right.
S2: So this hotspot hotspot is located along Saturn Boulevard near Sunset Avenue in the river valley. It's actually really close to a lot of schools , parks , homes and where people hike. And in this area there's there are culverts that create this really high turbulence. And that whirling in dirty water is what research researchers say transverse pollutants in the air , which can travel pretty far. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Well , you met one resident , Daniel Ruiz , walking his dog , and he lives in the area. And here's a little bit of what he told you.
S3: Usually when I come home at night , I try to take my dog like you just saw out for a walk once I get home. But it would get so bad that I was like , nope , we can't go back. We can't be going outside because I don't want to go to sleep with the headache. I'm just gonna get , like , insomnia. Even worse. Wow.
S4: Wow.
S1:
S2: Yes , a lot of families , parents , people that say are really healthy , they're active , but they're now experiencing chronic coughs. They're having trouble breathing. They're picking up their their inhalers a lot more so. And definitely as David Daniel told me , right. The headaches having trouble sleeping a lot of those things are really common in people who live within proximity to this hotspot. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , one of the toxins that you mentioned earlier and that researchers found was hydrogen sulfide. What what is that exactly ? And how does it impact impact health long term ? Right.
S2: So hydrogen sulfide is a toxic gas that smells like rotten eggs. You can't see it. You can definitely smell it. A lot of people can smell it even at low levels. And there's a lot of standards in workplace settings even for nuisance odors. But we know more about this gas at high levels and what it does over short periods of time , but we don't know enough about what these low levels can do for long periods of time , like over a year or even longer. So that's really concerning. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S2: That one doctor told me is actually really strange to see during seasons that you would typically see people with pneumonia. So that's also really concerning.
S1:
S2: They're feeling validated that a lot of their concerns that they've raised are now being recognized. And something that's been peer reviewed. And I think also they feel really , uh , excited that they were credited in this paper by these researchers that told them , hey , you know , yes , we know that these pollutants can be airborne in the ocean , but we think there's actually something else over here. They really helped these researchers find this hotspot , and they told them these odors probably are coming from this area of the river. And that's what this paper really showed. Wow.
S4: Wow.
S1: Hopefully it goes a long way to find solutions. You know , of course , the water quality continues to be an issue. As we mentioned , the South Bay saw beach closures over the Labor Day weekend. What can you tell us about the situation there now ? Yes.
S2: So the county announced that there were high bacteria levels in waters all the way up to Coronado because it flows in the Tijuana River , and it looks like South County shorelines remain closed. Today. I noticed that flows in the river jumped significantly last Thursday and Friday. The IWC told me this morning that they suspect it's because of recent rains , but they don't know for sure. So I think that's something we're going to be looking at closely in the coming days. Hmm.
S4: Hmm.
S1: You know , you've been reporting on this story of Tijuana River pollution for a few years now.
S2: So people may not even be aware that they're exposed to these odors. And I think that's a little concerning. Hmm.
S4: Hmm.
S1:
S2: It really validates what they've been saying a lot. And I think it really pushes what they keep saying , that this is yet another set of data that really should encourage quicker solutions. Right ? To end this for and for people on both sides of the border. Yeah.
S4: Yeah.
S1: I mean , I remember just last year talking about how a lot of health care facilities , we're seeing so many people come in with respiratory illnesses and them thinking that it was linked to air pollution. Right.
S2: Right. Yeah. And this study just solidifies that.
S4: Right ? Yeah.
S1: Well , you know , around the same time , um , this new research was published , the US Environmental Protection Agency and the International Boundary and Water Commission met an important deadline that could help ease cross-border sewage flows. What are the details there ? Right.
S2: So these two agencies promise to increase the capacity of this treatment plan at the border in just 100 days instead of two years. So last week , they announced they had met that deadline. And this plant will now treat 35 million gallons a day of wastewater from Tijuana instead of 25 million gallons. And this is just a partial expansion. There are plans underway to expand the facility's capacity to at least 50 million gallons. But it is good news , as I mentioned , for both sides of the border , because this means the plant will treat more wastewater than it would otherwise end up in the river and the ocean. And as this study from Scripps confirms , right ? The more flows you have in the river , that means more bad air quality and beach closures. Hmm.
S4: Hmm.
S1: What can you tell us about this , this study.
S4: Here and all of this and how they were able to do this so quickly.
S2: Finding the data ? Yes.
S4:
S2: Well , this , um , you know , it really comes back to what they've started several years ago. They were looking at the ocean , right. And what they were able to find was , hey , there's much more over by the river. As I mentioned earlier , the community really helped to lead this. And I think with a lot of air monitoring in the area , the researchers were able to put this together in just these past couple of months when in the summer , uh , we really saw really high levels of hydrogen sulfide. And I think that just further , um , confirmed what they what community has seen in the past couple of months. Yeah.
S4: Yeah.
S1: And the project is , well , um , seemed to come together pretty quickly , you know , when will this new capacity start treating.
S4: Wastewater with the project ? Yeah.
S2: The BWC says this should start within the next 4 to 5 , uh , 45 weeks. Sorry. As they start , uh , fine tuning the plan. So we'll be checking this in the coming weeks.
S1: And how much of an impact will this save on the sewage crisis.
S2: That's a good question. I think.
S1: We have. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. You know , I think that's that's a good question because we're we have yet to see really how much of an impact it will have. Of course it's good news , but we have to see how the plant will react to all of this during the rainy seasons , when you get more flows in there. And how much of an impact infrastructure upgrades in Mexico will also have. But what's certain is that this is not the full fix. This is a partial expansion.
S1: Well , you know , earlier this year , EPA administrator Lee Zeldin visited the area and highlighted the problems along the border with these flows.
S2: They've been providing updates frequently. And as you mentioned , you know , this , this milestone , this deadline , they met that. And I think it's it's something that we'll see. You know they met that deadline. Will it treat or how will it how fast will it read and how soon will the community feel the impact from , uh , you know , diverting flows from the river ? Yeah.
S1: What else is being done on infrastructure to really solve this problem ? I mean , it's something being worked on on both sides of the border , right ? Right.
S2: There's definitely projects on Mexico's side. You know , just recently they had announced the , um , they had upgraded a plant over in Punta Bandera. We also want to see how that's going to impact beach closures on , well , on their shorelines and in Mexico as well. And the expansion , the full expansion of the plant is also underway. I think , uh , the EPA has announced that they're looking to see if they can expedite that as well. So it's it's really just a series of projects. But there's also a continued push to divert flows fully from the river , uh , during the dry season. So that's also ongoing. I think that push continues. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. It's good to see that there's some movement happening in terms of solving this crisis. It's been going on for so long. Um , what will you be following next with this story.
S2: I really hope to get a tour of the plant soon. I think it always helps to see these kinds of projects in person and what when they're doing their thing right. I think I'd love to bring viewers and listeners along , so hopefully that's really soon.
S1: All right. Well , Tammie Murga is KPBS environment reporter. Tami , thank you so much.
S2: Thank you for having me.
S1: That's our show for today.
S5: I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
