Community Assessment for Water and Air Exposure Concerns During the Tijuana River Valley Sewage Crisis-San Diego,...

The Tijuana River Valley along the US-Mexico border faces a severe environmental and public health crisis from contamination of the Tijuana River with untreated sewage, urban runoff, and industrial waste, leading to water and air exposure concerns. The County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (CoSD HHSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted 189 household-level surveys to assess experiences with the crisis and address concerns. Survey results revealed that ~96% of households were concerned about the crisis. Top needs included requests for action (64.3%) and air (38.2%) and water (27.1%) quality improvement. Subsequently, CoSD HHSA developed data-driven outreach programs and resources (e.g., provision of air filters), enhanced messaging (e.g., providing educational materials, promoting behavioral health hotlines) related to the crisis to address household concerns, and shared the results with other agencies (e.g., the water board) to promote further action and safety messaging.