LOS ANGELES – AUGUST 09: Warning signs keep bathers out of the water at the south end of Venice Beach on August 9, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. The closure of a two-mile stretch of beach near Ballona Creek, after a pumping station failure sent between 20,000 and 30,000 gallons of raw sewage into the ocean, is a common problem on many Los Angeles and Orange County beaches. According to a recently released study by the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) and Stanford University researches, pollution on Southern California beaches affects 1.5 million people each year. Reportedly, between 627,800 and 1,479,200 “excess” cases of gastrointestinal illness, generally associated with swimming in contaminated water, inflicts symptoms like stomach cramps, diarrhea and nausea. Healthcare costs for illnesses related to beach bacteria run from approximate $21 million to $414 millions a year. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
An existing water contact closure impacting the Tijuana Slough shoreline in San Diego County has been extended to include the shoreline in Imperial Beach, San Diego County officials said Monday.
The County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health and Quality (DEHQ) said the beach water contact closure had been extended north to include the IB shoreline “due to ocean currents moving north into the United States.”
“Water sample results indicate contamination of ocean water now extends from the international border north through Carnation Avenue, Imperial Beach,” the department added.
Officials are adding signs at the IB shoreline warning of sewage contaminated water. Those signs will remain in place until sampling results show that the ocean water is safe to swim in.
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The county said anyone seeking information on the Tijuana River can call the U.S. International Boundary & Water Commission at (619) 662-7600.
Updates on beach closures in San Diego County can be found on this website or by calling the county’s hotline at (619) 338-2073.
The DEHQ closed the San Diego Tijuana Slough shoreline in southern San Diego County in late June due to sewage-contaminated runoff from the Tijuana River, which enters San Diego County from Mexico and flows through the southernmost part of the county before it empties into the Pacific Ocean.
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That closure spanned the ocean shoreline at Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge and Border Field State Park.
