Stop the Sewage Crisis in South Bay — Demand an Emergency Offshore Bypass NOW

The Issue

For more than 1,000 straight days the beaches of Imperial Beach, Coronado, and Silver Strand have been closed or posted due to raw sewage flowing north from the Tijuana River. Families can’t swim, small businesses are losing millions, and over 1,100 Navy SEAL candidates have fallen ill training in contaminated surf. Permanent treatment-plant upgrades won’t be finished until 2028–29. Our community can’t wait five more years.

A shovel-ready, temporary fix exists:

42-inch HDPE pipeline that diverts the river two miles offshore, beyond the surf zone.
High-capacity pumps move up to 60 million gallons a day — enough to intercept 90% of flows except the biggest storms.
Peracetic-acid dosing disinfects the water inside the pipe; by the time it reaches the diffuser it meets marine-life standards.
Deployment time: 6 weeks once permits and funding are secured.
Total five-year cost: ≈ $10 million — less than one month of local tourism losses.

What we’re asking for

Governor Newsom and the State Legislature — allocate emergency funds from the state’s climate-resilience or disaster-relief reserves.
U.S. EPA & IBWC — issue an expedited, 30-day emergency NPDES/WDR order so construction can start this summer.
California Coastal Commission — approve an Emergency Coastal Development Permit with robust monitoring.
County & City leaders — publicly endorse the bypass, streamline local encroachment and access permissions, and coordinate daily water-quality testing.

Why this matters

Public health: kids, surfers, and Navy trainees are being poisoned.
Economy: South Bay beach towns lose an estimated $20 million+ each year in visitor spending.
Environment: chronic sewage kills nearshore ecosystems; an offshore, treated discharge will be diluted 100-fold before it can impact wildlife.

Add your voice
Sign this petition to tell our local, state, and federal decision-makers: fund it, permit it, build it — before another summer is lost. Together we can protect our beaches, our health, and our economy while long-term infrastructure is finished.

Parker ShinnPetition Starter

Media inquiries

754 The Issue

A shovel-ready, temporary fix exists:

42-inch HDPE pipeline that diverts the river two miles offshore, beyond the surf zone.
High-capacity pumps move up to 60 million gallons a day — enough to intercept 90% of flows except the biggest storms.
Peracetic-acid dosing disinfects the water inside the pipe; by the time it reaches the diffuser it meets marine-life standards.
Deployment time: 6 weeks once permits and funding are secured.
Total five-year cost: ≈ $10 million — less than one month of local tourism losses.

What we’re asking for

Governor Newsom and the State Legislature — allocate emergency funds from the state’s climate-resilience or disaster-relief reserves.
U.S. EPA & IBWC — issue an expedited, 30-day emergency NPDES/WDR order so construction can start this summer.
California Coastal Commission — approve an Emergency Coastal Development Permit with robust monitoring.
County & City leaders — publicly endorse the bypass, streamline local encroachment and access permissions, and coordinate daily water-quality testing.

Why this matters

Public health: kids, surfers, and Navy trainees are being poisoned.
Economy: South Bay beach towns lose an estimated $20 million+ each year in visitor spending.
Environment: chronic sewage kills nearshore ecosystems; an offshore, treated discharge will be diluted 100-fold before it can impact wildlife.