SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Residents in the South Bay are hoping that the replacement for outgoing county supervisor Nora Vargas will prioritize addressing the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis. The community continues to deal with the effects of this decades-long issue, and many are eager for a resolution.
"It's criminal what's happening here, and all the lawsuits in the world are not going to bring back people's health," says community activist Marvel Harrison.
Harrison, an Imperial Beach resident, has been diagnosed with reactive airway disease. Doctors have suggested that the sewage smells may be a contributing factor.
"They believe so. I didn't have it before," she says. "I think I blame the politicians who have not stepped up to call a state of emergency to be able to get the Army Corps of Engineers in to be able to access every viable possible way to get this cleaned up."
Harrison is concerned that the sewage and toxins might also impact children's neurological development, wildlife, and even military personnel in the area.
"We can choose not to go in the water. We can choose not to surf. I can choose not to walk my dog on the beach because the vet says, 'Don't walk the dogs.' I can choose not to have my kids play in the sand, but I cannot choose not to breathe the air," she says.
In response, Harrison has equipped her home with air purifiers and monitoring systems from UCSD.
"We are involved in every way we possibly can be, but the level of frustration is maximized by how much, especially this last summer and fall, we felt betrayed by the county. We just did not get the support we needed when the crisis was at a pinnacle," she says.
With a new county supervisor set to take the position, Harrison hopes for renewed support in addressing the crisis.
"[Vargas] was strapped and not acting in the way I believe she wanted to act. When we're looking at the new supervisor, I think we need to look at housing insecurity, homelessness, and economic demise. But all of that is completely compromised by this overwhelming sewage crisis. Every one of those aspects... This has to be the number one issue on who we get into the office. So, let's find a person who has the science, the political will, the knowledge, the history to know how to intervene and get it done."
As for her reactive airway disease, Harrison says she's one of the lucky ones who had the means and ability to get those tests to find out she has it, but she fears many more have it and won't know. And, of course, with the cost of housing, moving is not an option for most.