Greg Sandstrom, at the river’s critical point, takes measurements with a Coriolis air sampler. (Image credit: Beatriz Klimeck, UC San Diego)
For decades, the Tijuana River has carried millions of gallons of untreated sewage and industrial waste across the US-Mexico border. The river flows through San Diego’s South Bay region before emptying into the ocean, recently leading to more than 1,300 consecutive days of beach closures and water quality concerns. Residents of South Bay communities have long expressed concern about foul odors emanating from the river, reporting health issues such as eye, nose, and throat irritation, respiratory problems, fatigue, and headaches.
Now, new research published by scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC Riverside, San Diego State University (SDSU), and the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) reveals that the Tijuana River is polluted and releasing large amounts of hydrogen sulfide—a toxic gas commonly known as “sewer gas” because of its association with sewage and rotten egg odor…