The Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) reported that six beaches in the country are unfit for recreational use, four of which are located in the Baja California coastal area.
These four areas were identified as Playa de Tijuana, Playa de Tijuana I, Playa de Rosarito, and Playas de Rosarito I, according to monitoring prior to the Easter holiday period.
In Tijuana, pollution affects El Faro, La Mojonera, Cañada Azteca, El Vigía, Parque México, Playa Blanca, Baja Malibú, and San Antonio del Mar beaches.
The coasts of the municipalities of Tijuana and Playas de Rosarito have been declared unfit for recreational use for several consecutive years due to exceeding the environmental standard limit of 200 enterococci per 100,000 milliliters.
We’re in a situation never before seen during Holy Week; the beaches cannot be used, he noted.
Both municipalities are located near the Punta Bandera wastewater treatment plant, which has been failing since 2018 and discharges at least 1,100 liters per second of untreated sewage into the sea.
The federal government began rehabilitation work in 2024, and testing is currently underway.
“These results only highlight the reality of this long-standing problem of not knowing what to do with our wastewater. Our existing sanitation infrastructure is obsolete,” said Rosario Norzagaray, marine waste manager for the Costa Salvaje association.
She added that the infrastructure is also insufficient because it hasn’t kept pace with the city’s exponential growth.
She recalled that a year and a half ago, the governments of the United States and Mexico signed Act 320 to address the discharge of sewage through the channeling of the Tijuana River, which affects the coasts of San Diego.
The Tijuana and Rosarito Beach Clean Beaches committees, which take preventive measures to address pollution levels exceeding those permitted by law, have not met for over a year.
Municipal Civil Protection and Firefighters will monitor the two dams, Abelardo L. Rodríguez and El Carrizo.
Rosario Norzagaray emphasized the importance of informing the public that the beaches are not suitable for recreation and that swimming is dangerous, as it can cause gastrointestinal complications and skin damage.
Cofepris monitored seawater quality at 289 beaches in 76 different tourist destinations in 17 states.
The other two beaches considered unsuitable for recreational use are Icacos Beach in Acapulco, Guerrero state, and Sayulita Beach in the tourist destination of Bahía Banderas, Nayarit state.
Source: oem
