Several beaches along the Tijuana-San Diego border are closed due to a sewage spill, however the extent of the spill remains unknown.
WiLDCOAST, a conservation non-profit in Imperial Beach, reported Tuesday that a sewage treatment plant in Tijuana had a collapsed collector and shattered line that resulted in pollutants dumping into the ocean at two liters a second, or 45,600 gallons in 24 hours.
But the spill at Playas de Tijuana has been reported elsewhere to be as much as 100,000 gallons, leading to the closure at San Diego's southernmost Imperial Beach.
Here’s an eerie video of beach goers swimming and fishing despite the spill:
U-T San Diego reported on two potential sources spilling into the ocean:
[In Baja] The CESPT, Tijuana's public service agency, reported Tuesday evening in a news release that crews would be working for several hours to replace a 26-foot stretch of a 42-inch pipe, which had become blocked.
The U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission on Tuesday reported a second source of potential contamination: polluted flow from the Tijuana River, which runs through Tijuana but empties into the Pacific Ocean in Imperial Beach.
Along the shared coast, occurrences of sewage spills are not uncommon. In January 2011, an estimated 31 million gallons of sewage spilled in Playas de Tijuana and seeped into Imperial Beach.
