With such little rain we've had,
obviously there would be less rain runoff,
so we wanted to come here to the
South Bay right by the T one is Slough
to check on the amount of sewage
coming to our beaches from Mexico,
perhaps with the drought it's
providing some sort of silver
lining when it comes to our oceans.
The early morning work by San Diego
County's environmental health
specialist Romina Chef. I'm waiting
for the tide to come back in. You have to
take the sample when the tide is
coming in helps determine exactly
that she's here in the South Bay.
Daily testing the waters.
Waiting for the wave to scoop up a
bottle full. I'm putting it in a
baggie and then putting it in ice
so the bacteria stops growing.
So when I get it to the
lab it's the actual.
Sample the actual count. And
this spot South of Seacoast
Drive is one of nine locations to
tests so I stared border field TJ River,
mouth two and IB and then I have
this and then I have One North of
IB and then two and one is silver
starting one in Coronado. That's what
she needs to find out if the water is
safe for swimmers and
surfers in the South Bay.
My children served I swim.
I like ocean swimming and
I feel like what I do.
Impacts the daily lives of all
San Diego County residents,
all at least all beachgoers so.
I'm really keeping you safe.
My I'm really protecting your
health and keeping you safe
so I love what I do. While
we were with Romina on this day in July,
she got the call from the lab.
Too much bacteria in the
sample from the day prior,
so she immediately alerted the
lifeguards and anyone she saw.
To let them know of the beach
closure and to stay out of
the water, we take the samples.
Today we take him to the lab.
They put him in a culture and then
we read their results the next day.
So it's about a 24 hour process. The rest
of San Diego County is
monitored on a weekly basis.
Now, despite the occasional Southwell
bacteria levels have stayed fairly
low for the summer. There's a
river stop flowing in my sample
results came started coming
out clear or clean, but since
there's a wastewater treatment
plant South of the border,
a South wind or a South swell can also
send bacteria into the Imperial Beach
area. The environment does not
recognize borders, which is
why even when there's no rain and
no rain runoff coming from the
Tijuana river, bacteria levels can
still be dangerously high. You're
gonna laugh but I'm gonna turn.
I come in every day and I'm going
to go OK why does my hair doing
where is the water coming from?
Where is the wind coming from?
And then I go like this and depending
because all of that is gonna impact my
decision making so even with a drought
we're still dealing with the pollution.
It is a complicated problem
going on for decades that not
even a lack of rain can fix.
It's such a multilayer problem,
not just environmentally
but socially economically.
And politically.
That the I think the only way is
going to get solved is by both
countries really sitting down and
and and figuring it out together,
because as much as
she loves her job, Romina would
also love not needing to sample
this stretch of coastline every day.
I don't want you to come to San Diego as a
vacationer or be a resident of San Diego
and get sick by going into the water.
She's literally saving lives.
Wow, it's fascinating stuff
because we always talk
about meta after the rain.
You know, watch out for the water,
but what she's showing is sometimes
the bacteria levels can be, you know,
not good even when it's not raining.
I love when she said I just stand there.
And whichever way the wind
blows, that's so interesting.
She does it every day so many times a
day that she can tell whatever way her
hair is blowing or if there's humidity,
it does impact the bacteria.
So that's the thing I mean.
Our weather obviously impacts it.
If the storm is coming.
But even now, because of the
way the wastewater treatment
plant is so close to our border,
you know some of the those swells, the winds.
All of that could bring bacteria here,
so unfortunately the lack of rain has
not necessarily improved us by too much,
so that we still have some of that pollution.