It's been two days now since 20,000 gallons of sewage spilled near a South Bay neighborhood.
Families told 10News the lingering smell has been nauseating.
“It’s very strong. Especially when it gets dark,” said Naomi Rodriguez.
Naomi and her son live just a few blocks away from the Hollister wastewater treatment plant that had a failure on Monday.
“It’s concerning because you have to be extra careful. Especially with kids…you don’t want them to get sick,” she said.
She says this week’s sewage spill is just the latest pollution problem affecting them here.
“During the summer, we weren’t able to go to the beaches down here in IB. It’s very sad,” she said.
South Bay beaches are often shut down due to sewage from Tijuana.
This week the mayor of Imperial Beach called on Governor Newsom and President Biden to declare a sewage state of emergency, which she says is long overdue.
“To say that it’s disappointing and frustrating is an understatement. I think the callous disregard of our community speaks volumes,” said Mayor Paloma Aguirre.
Mayor Aguirre says the declaration would supply critically-needed funding — fast.
“We are feeling the effects of this sewage crisis on our public health, on our economy, on our environment, and on our quality of life,” she said.
