Sewage Spills Mexico

Beaches normally jammed with summer vacationers were virtually deserted Thursday after a Tijuana sewage spill prompted health officials to ban swimming along a 15-mile stretch of beach north from the U.S.-Mexico border. The closure affected beaches from Imperial Beach to Coronado and drew new attention to the pollution generated by Tijuana, where population growth has far outpaced the Mexican border city's ability to process sewage.

Beside a patch of plywood shacks south of downtown, a pipe disgorges a steady stream of raw sewage into a channel already brimming with waste. The foul soup flows on into the New River, which swells further with waste picked up from shanty towns and businesses along its course north through town and into the United States.

A Pacific storm bringing heavy surf spelled more trouble Sunday for contaminated San Diego County beaches, and shut down efforts to repair a damaged sewage pipe. Health officials said the contamination off Ocean Beach was decreasing, but they were concerned that the storm might reverse that trend. As storm waves broke over the deck of a repair barge Sunday night, workers were airlifted to shore and the barge was towed into San Diego Bay.

Beaches normally jammed with summer vacationers were virtually deserted Thursday after a Tijuana sewage spill prompted health officials to ban swimming along a 15-mile stretch of beach north from the U.S.-Mexico border. The closure affected beaches from Imperial Beach to Coronado and drew new attention to the pollution generated by Tijuana, where population growth has far outpaced the Mexican border city's ability to process sewage.

Beside a patch of plywood shacks south of downtown, a pipe disgorges a steady stream of raw sewage into a channel already brimming with waste. The foul soup flows on into the New River, which swells further with waste picked up from shanty towns and businesses along its course north through town and into the United States.

Area beaches remained closed Monday after a pipe break in Tijuana sent at least 24 million gallons of sewage pouring into the Pacific Ocean. "The Mexican officials are estimating they will fix it, maybe, by late (this) afternoon," said Dan Avera, San Diego County's deputy director of environmental health services. Signs warned swimmers of high bacteria levels at beaches from the U.S.-Mexican border north about 15 miles to North Island Naval Air Station, at the entrance to San Diego's harbor.

Area beaches remained closed Monday after a pipe break in Tijuana sent at least 24 million gallons of sewage pouring into the Pacific Ocean. "The Mexican officials are estimating they will fix it, maybe, by late (this) afternoon," said Dan Avera, San Diego County's deputy director of environmental health services. Signs warned swimmers of high bacteria levels at beaches from the U.S.-Mexican border north about 15 miles to North Island Naval Air Station, at the entrance to San Diego's harbor.

A Pacific storm bringing heavy surf spelled more trouble Sunday for contaminated San Diego County beaches, and shut down efforts to repair a damaged sewage pipe. Health officials said the contamination off Ocean Beach was decreasing, but they were concerned that the storm might reverse that trend. As storm waves broke over the deck of a repair barge Sunday night, workers were airlifted to shore and the barge was towed into San Diego Bay.