Weekend swimmers across California were warned to stay out of the water due to bacterial contamination caused by sewage spills.
A spill in Morro Bay on Sunday dumped 7,600 gallons of sewage into the harbor and prompted the closure of local beaches, health officials said.
The cause was a burst sewer line at the Inn at Morro Bay, the San Luis Obispo County Department of Public Health said.
By Monday the flow had been contained and signs had been put up to warn people of the danger.
About 350 miles down the coast, several stretches of beach in San Diego County remained closed due to sewage spills in nearby Tijuana.
The Tijuana Slough shoreline, which extends north from the U.S.-Mexico border, has been closed since late 2021 due to high levels of bacteria, according to the San Diego County Department of Health and Environmental Quality.
The department “instructs beach users to avoid contact with ocean and bay waters in the closure area,” the site says.
Two additional areas remained closed due to bacteria levels related to Tijuana wastewater runoff: Silver Strand Shoreline, whose closure began in May 2024, and Imperial Beach Shoreline, which closed in December.
A Surfrider Foundation beach quality report found Imperial Beach to be the most polluted in the country. Every sample collected showed bacteria counts that exceeded the state's health standard for recreational waters, the report said.
“People in my community are getting sick left and right,” said Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, who urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency there.
“We cannot afford to continue shifting responsibility across the border because we have a terrible situation here on American soil, on California soil, that is harming California voters.”
Times staff writer Alene Tchekmedyian contributed to this report.
