Sewage water filled with trash flow down the Tijuana River on Tuesday, April 9, 2024 in Imperial Beach, California.
The proposal directs county staff to work with a newly formed task force led by the city of Imperial Beach, local doctors and researchers from San Diego State University and UC San Diego. In addition, the county would develop decontamination protocols for floodwater tainted by sewage, chemicals, trash and other pollutants. According to the draft policy, local guidelines could be modeled after federal ones, such as using vacuum trucks and personal protective equipment.
Under the policy, county staff would have to develop a list of data sources that could track sewage-related, non-reportable diseases, including from school absences, medical billing codes, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and sources from Mexico. The policy directs officials to request zip-code-level data from California Breathing, a state disease surveillance resource that could help evaluate how contamination may be exacerbating asthma.