This Is the Most Polluted Beach in California

California’s long coastline might be known for its beautiful and dramatic beaches, but one of them is a bacteria hot spot—and a threat to public health. 

The nonprofit environmental organization, the Surfrider Foundation, recently released its annual Clean Water Report. For its report, the foundation collected 10,120 water samples from 604 sampling sites across the country. After analyzing all the samples, it found that Imperial Beach in San Diego County, California, was the dirtiest beach in the state—and one of the most contaminated in the U.S.—with a bacteria rate of 82 percent.

However, this is a known problem to the city, and the high bacteria rate is largely due to an overflow of sewage pollution from the Tijuana River. The beach is currently closed.

“The failures in Tijuana’s sewage treatment, conveyance, and pump station network have been responsible for the decades of transboundary sewage flows coming through the Tijuana River, which have significantly worsened since 2017,” the City of Imperial Beach said in a February statement on its website. “The beach is closed because sewage flows in the Tijuana River are exceptionally high.”

Imperial Beach is actively trying to address the issue, but the problem spans across the border into Mexico, and despite its best efforts, the high levels of pollution and unpleasant smells from the pollution continue on the beach. 

“The City of Imperial Beach is engaged in continuous advocacy at every level of government, including requests to fund immediate solutions and petitions for declarations of emergency from the Governor of California and President of the United States,” the Imperial Beach said in its February statement. “Unfortunately, all requests for a declaration of emergency have been denied.”

A declaration of emergency would make it easier for Imperial Beach to access emergency funding and work on infrastructure projects that could ease the flow of pollution from Mexico into the San Diego area. The city encourages residents to file official complaints about the odor and air quality problems—the formal reports serve as an official record of the scope of the problem at Imperial Beach.

“Everyone deserves to enjoy a fun day at the beach without worrying about getting sick from exposure to pollution,” the SurfRider organization said in its Clean Water Report.

Other hotspots that made the list this year include places like Windmill Beach in Sag Harbor, New York; Ballard Park in Melbourne, Florida; and Kahaluu on Oahu in Hawaii. Using the information they’ve gathered the Surfrider Foundation works to protect clean water for all by advocating at the local, state, and federal levels.