SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Eastlake resident Skylar Kinney loves to surf and fish in Coronado, but the recent storms have put those activities on hold, as sewage has made its way up from Tijuana.
"It's a pretty big swell coming in right now, but it's really hard to surf when there is sewage in the water. I don't want to get sick," Kinney says.
Sewage in the water has been an ongoing problem in Coronado, and the recent rains have increased bacterial levels. According to the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, 30 to 40 million gallons of raw sewage has made it's way north from the Tijuana River.
"Following major storm events in Tijuana, we have long running sewage overflows that continue for days and weeks. That waste water gets introduced to the Pacific Ocean and the onshore currents carry it north towards Coronado," the board says.
David Gibson is with the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, and he says the warning signs to keep people out of the water may be around for a while.
"I'm not very optimistic that those signs will not come down for at least two days in a row, at least into the summer," Gibson says.
The heavy rains and sewage has made the ocean very unsafe and that has made a few tourists very disappointed.
"I'm a little bummed, I am not going to lie, we were looking forward to some nice weather," one tourist told 10News.
"I'm from the middle of the country, and coming out here I really wanted to be on the beach and get in the water — couldn't do it," a tourist says.
So with the weather looking quite rainy for the next few days, Gibson's advice for surfers was to avoid the beach.
"Stay out of the water for the next week or two, truly," he says.
