Imperial Beach City Council holds special workshop dedicated to sewage crisis

IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) – The Imperial Beach City Council held a special workshop Wednesday evening dedicated to the sewage crisis.

There were a number of topics covered including everything from infrastructure progress to health studies being conducted. The topic that seemed to resonate with the local residents the most was the health risks that come with exposure to the sewage.

“My husband has had E. Coli last January. It took two antibiotics. He is sick today, we started coughing three days ago, my dogs have diarrhea,” Cheryl Quinones detailed . 

Residents sounded off during public comment on the issue that has long plagued the South Bay and beyond.

“We can’t open our windows most days of the year because of the pollution. We are worried about the public health impacts of our community living in basically raw sewage,” said Tom Csanadi, a retired pediatrician.

Representatives from the International Boundary and Water Commission as well as the EPA were at the meeting to give updates on projects and funding from both the US and Mexico.

“One hundred percent of the pollution impacting Imperial Beach, Coronado, the Strand is all from Mexico because of the nature of the watershed. We have infrastructure on our side and they’re working on their infrastructure as well. We can only control what’s on our side and that’s why we’ve been advocating to our federal government for increased resources and for a state of emergency declaration,” Mayor Paloma Aquirre explained.

SDSU’s School of Public Health referenced hundreds of toxic chemicals polluting the water now also being discovered in soil and air.

South Bay Urgent Care doctors Kimberly and Matt Dickson have been sounding the alarm on the possible connection the sewage has to gastrointestinal issues.

“The part that was most concerning was these patients were not swimming in the ocean,” Dr. Kimberly Dickson said.

The last speaker was Dr. Kim Prather, who is dedicated to specifically studying what happens when we inhale water pollution.

“Once it gets airborne, it can travel for miles and so it can expose many more people. You don’t have to go in the in the water, you don’t have to go to the beach, you can be inland and still inhale these things are coming out of the pollution,” Dr. Prather said.