SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Mexico’s federal commission against sanitary risks recently labeled six beaches in Tijuana and Rosarito as being the most polluted in all of Mexico when it comes to fecal matter.
The bacteria comes from raw sewage in the water.
The agency says these six beaches far exceed the acceptable health levels set by the World Health Organization.
During the last quarter of this year, 254 beaches throughout Mexico were surveyed and the six in Northern Baja topped the list as the most polluted as a result of sewage in the water.
The federal agency said in a statement “immediate actions need to take place at these six beaches to prevent health risks for tourists and Mexican nationals.”
The fecal matter is believed to have come from discharges of untreated sewage at a plant in Punta Bandera about five miles south of the border.
A lot of contamination also comes from the Tijuana River where millions of gallons of raw sewage flow from Mexico into the U.S. and finally out to sea.
The state of Baja California has announced a plan to refurbish the Punta Bandera facility starting in January, but the work should take almost a year to complete.
Other projects on both sides of the border, financed by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, are expected to break ground in 2024, work that is supposed to treat and reduce the flow of raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean.
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