What is the most polluted beach in the United States in 2024?
A report from the Surfrider Foundation has found that 100% of samples taken from San Diego’s Imperial Beach exceed health standards for bacteria.
San Diego’s Imperial Beach, located on the border between Mexico and California, has been declared the most polluted in the United States, according to the annual water quality report of the Surfrider Foundation. The report, which evaluates pollution and water quality of the country’s beaches, highlighted that 100% of the water samples taken on this beach exceeded the bacteria levels allowed by state health regulations.
Surfrider’s Blue Water Task Force (BWTF), which coordinates volunteers to conduct water quality testing, said sampling sites near the Imperial Beach Pier failed to meet health standards in every test they conducted. Local authorities closed this Pacific Ocean beach for 322 days in 2023 in an effort to protect the public from exposure to wastewater-derived pathogens. However, the closures have not been enough to prevent disease, as some toxins are dispersed into the air, affecting communities near the border.
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Why is San Diego’s Imperial Beach so polluted?
Water quality at Imperial Beach has been a persistent problem for decades. Surfrider describes it as one of the most serious public health and environmental justice emergencies in the country.
The main sources of pollution are stormwater runoff, untreated sewage, harmful chemicals and trash that flows through the nearby Tijuana River, with millions of gallons of contaminated water flowing through the area daily.
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Currents associated with the Southern California Bight carry this pollution along the coast during the summer, causing illness and beach closures in southern San Diego County. A study by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography revealed that pollution contributed to approximately 34,000 illnesses in the Imperial Beach area in 2017.
The situation is exacerbated during storms, as evidenced after Hurricane Hilary in 2023 , when 2.5 billion gallons of contaminated stormwater coursed through the Tijuana River Valley. Surfrider recorded bacteria levels of 9,804 MPN/100 ml, almost 100 times higher than health standards for safe recreation.
The report underscores the urgent need for sustainable solutions and cross-border cooperation to address this pollution crisis, so as to protect the health of residents and visitors to the region.