Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre is calling on the county government to delay the reopening of the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park Campground, citing health concerns from the adjacent river's sewage crisis.
"The county should be focused on cleaning up the sewage, not putting a campground in it," Aguirre said. "I've heard from too many residents and workers getting sick — headaches, nausea, respiratory illness.
"Reopening this campground while the air and water remain compromised is dangerous to rangers and campers and a waste of our tax dollars. We need the county to do its part to fix the sewage crisis, not pretend like it doesn't exist."
Aguirre, a San Diego County supervisorial candidate for the April 8 special election, spoke on behalf of the union for San Diego County Park Rangers. That union on Thursday filed a formal cease-and-desist with the county calling for the delay of the scheduled April 1 reopening date.
The county says soil-testing data shows acceptable levels of pollutants, while the rangers say more testing is needed.
"This is a safety issue — plain and simple," said Crystal Irving, president of SEIU 221, the county workers union. "County workers were never consulted about the risks of returning to the site and the county is ignoring the sewage crisis' health impacts.
"There are serious concerns about air quality, illness and lack of testing. Our members love serving the public and the outdoors, but we can't responsibly welcome anyone to this campground until the sewage contamination is fixed."
The campground opened in 2021 but closed in January 2024 after that month's high flooding. It contains 51 campsites, 10 yurts, community gardens, ball fields and connects to a 22-mile trail system. The project cost a total of $12 million.
Aguirre called on the county to help fund additional infrastructure upgrades, sewage clean-ups and push the federal government to declare a state of emergency on the sewage crisis.
