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05.15.26

It’s Time for California to Step Up and Lead

Cover photo: Ana Ramirez, Uptown 11 Studios - Members of the Tijuana River Coalition stand in front of the CA State Capitol building wearing the respirators required to stay safe in parts of the Tijuana River Valley

The Tijuana River Watershed is a strikingly beautiful and deeply meaningful place for communities on both sides of the Mexico/U.S. border.  It provides critical habitat to countless species and is the largest remaining coastal wetland in Southern California.  Yet, each year, billions of gallons of untreated sewage, industrial waste, and trash flow across the border through the river and enter the Pacific Ocean, causing beach closures throughout South San Diego County and widespread illnesses throughout the region.  In 2025, that number reached more than 15.2 billion gallons in polluted transboundary flows.

Based in San Diego, Surfrider’s Clean Border Water Now Program addresses the transboundary pollution that is causing a grave public health and environmental justice crisis in the San Diego/Tijuana cross-border region.

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A State Responsibility
Communities living near the Tijuana River on both sides of the U. S./Mexico Border have long suffered from the impacts of sewage contamination, industrial pollution, and trash flowing through the watershed and into the Pacific Ocean.  While some headwinds have been made as our federal leaders have begun work on long-term infrastructure solutions and negotiating international treaties with Mexico, it is time for the State of California to take decisive action to alleviate the dangerous conditions that are affecting California’s water and air.  The pollution is hurting California ecosystems and wildlife, it’s crippling California businesses, and it’s making Californians sick.  Without a doubt, this is a California problem and more importantly, it is a California opportunity.

Worsening Public Health Concerns
Fast moving, sewage-contaminated water in the main river channel is releasing unsafe levels of hydrogen sulfide into the air next to neighborhoods with homes, schools, and businesses.  Affected communities are experiencing persistent and prolonged exposures to hydrogen sulfide at concentrations several times higher than the current state standard, as well as chronic low-level exposures.

2026 Ocean Day Collage (1)Photos: Saturn Boulevard "hot spot" where hydrogen sulfide gas is released into the air as turbulent water bubbles burst

Exposure to hydrogen sulfide can cause respiratory and gastrointestinal issues, headaches, fatigue, nausea, and skin irritation.  These symptoms have been reported in South San Diego County and disproportionately affect vulnerable and environmentally overburdened communities, including children, low-income households, immigrant communities, Latino and Tribal populations.

Renewed calls for the Governor to declare an emergency in the Tijuana River Valley and surrounding areas are gaining momentum in large part due to worsening air quality conditions and alarming public health concerns.  As pollution emanating from the Tijuana River continues to diminish air quality, communities in South San Diego County are enduring increasingly inhumane living conditions.  Chronic community exposures to poisonous air and health decline are being documented in real time, AND STILL . . . we are fighting to prioritize this public health emergency in the halls of power, from Sacramento to DC.

What Local and State Leaders Are Doing
At the county-level, Supervisor Paloma Aguirre has led a number of successful efforts since entering office less than a year ago, including the installation of new public signage warning of toxic conditions in and around the Tijuana River Valley, unlocking county reserve funds that prioritize this issue, distributing air purifiers to impacted households, developing short and mid-term solutions to alleviate the hot spot for hydrogen sulfide dissemination, and pushing state and federal leaders to declare an emergency.

It’s now time for the state, which has considerably more resources and agencies available to address this emergency, to step up and do its part.  Long-time legislative champions on this issue - CA Senator Padilla, Assemblymember Alvarez, Senator Blakespear, and others - have introduced a number of bills, resolutions, and funding requests this session to tackle various components of this very complex issue.  It’s imperative that these actions pass and get signed into law.  Though seemingly basic policies and relatively small funding requests, they are critical to addressing this urgent humanitarian emergency.

Here’s a breakdown of the current state-level opportunities:

Bills (2)

Why these Actions Matter
While the funding requests and Proposition 4 funds ($46M) will help get air purifiers in homes and short-term infrastructure solutions in the ground, the Governor’s budget item is critical to adding the personnel needed to write and manage permits for all the infrastructure projects coming down the pipeline.  Without that added capacity, projects could get held up even longer.  Additionally, the proposed resolution and bills will open up new avenues to address public health concerns, especially related to hydrogen sulfide exposure.  With such a severe public health crisis impacting hundreds of thousands of Californians, everything that can be done should be done as quickly as possible.  These state actions provide a critically needed response right now.

2026 Ocean Day CollagePhotos: Surfrider highlighted the Tijuana River pollution crisis at CA Ocean Day on April 28, 2026

Surfrider and our partners highlighted the Tijuana River pollution crisis and possible state actions at Ocean Day on April 28th - an annual grassroots state advocacy day that brings hundreds of advocates from across California to Sacramento to speak directly to their elected officials.  This year, many of those advocates were youth who live in polluted conditions in Southern San Diego County, who traveled a long distance to deliver their message.

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Photo: CA Senator Blakespear opened the Tijuana River Coalition's Ocean Day panel in Sacramento on April 28, 2026

Surfrider also worked with the Tijuana River Coalition to organize a state policy and media briefing on May 7th that was well attended by several news outlets, including CalMatters and LA Times.   

Please join us in calling on our state elected officials to take decisive, legislative action now by signing and sharing this petition.

 

We urge our elected leaders of California to support policy solutions and funding requests that will provide rapid relief for the dangerous water and air quality conditions in the Tijuana River Valley, as well as long-term solutions to restore a clean and safe environment for everyone who works, lives, and visits in the affected region.  No one should have to endure what South San Diego communities are experiencing on a daily basis.

Here’s What You Can Do to Help:

HealOurCoast_Veritas-Rising

Photo: Veriditas Rising