The San Diego Board of Supervisors have recommended funding for infrastructure repairs at the Saturn Boulevard hotspot and critical public health studies.
The funding will go toward construction at a sewage hot spot on the Tijuana River along Saturn Boulevard and a concurrent medical study.
The board also approved releasing funds to offer more air purifiers to households in the South Bay region and established a new position within the county to centralize decisions around the crisis.
“My constituents have carried the burden for decades,” Aguirre said. “We can’t wait for years… people are getting sick right now.”
These chemicals have been linked to respiratory illnesses, cancer, and developmental disorders in children, Aguirre added.
“This isn’t just a sewage issue; it’s a public health emergency, and it’s time we fund it like one.”
The proposal, which was written by Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer and Board Chair Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre, is the result of months of work by the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on the Tijuana River Sewage Crisis.
It calls for the allocation of $4.75 million from the Unlocked Reserves Framework, which it says is intended to bypass federal and state delays and offer ways to reduce toxic exposure in the short term while also gathering the data necessary for future fixes.
In 2024, the number of foul odor complaints spiked among residents near the Tijuana River. Last year, the sewage hotspot along Saturn Boulevard became the focus of research led by the University of California, San Diego.
The readings the team took found levels of hydrogen sulfide that are thousands of times higher than what is typical for an urban area, thanks to a wastewater discharge pipe expelling thousands of gallons of sewage into a confined area and creating bubbles that release highly toxic gases into the air. These aerosolized pollutants then produce the noxious odors — and worse — that residents have noted for years.
Comments were overwhelmingly in support of the proposed construction and study.
“This is an emergency,” said Dr. Paula Granados, a San Diego State University professor who was part of the in-depth study concluding that wastewater was clearly responsible for the airborne pollution. “It’s not healthy anywhere for anyone at any level … this is not hypothetical.
“The epidemiological health studies being proposed are essential to informing future public health decisions.”
“We already know that these wastewater air pollutants are invading peoples homes … things that we can smell and also things that we cannot smell… we need protection in the main rooms and in the bedrooms.”
“Please heed the desperate calls of all of your constituents,” said Jasmine Vargas of the Environmental Health Coalition.
“The Tijuana River sewage crisis requires both long-term solutions and action now,” said Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer, calling it “the regional crisis of our time.”
“We’re moving on both tracks at once, advancing permanent fixes while taking immediate steps to reduce the toxic exposure San Diegans face every day.”
In a separate item, supervisors also approved using unlocked reserves to provide additional air filters to people living in affected areas.
The board also established a County Pollution Crisis Chief position to serve as the county’s central point of coordination for sewage-related response efforts, integrating public health monitoring, infrastructure mitigation, emergency response, environmental protection, and intergovernmental advocacy under a single operational lead.
The position is intended to ensure faster decision-making, clearer accountability, and sustained focus during the ongoing state of emergency, the county said.
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