Heavy metals and E coli: raw sewage at US-Mexico border a ‘public health crisis’

The Tijuana River in Tijuana, Mexico, on 20 August 2023. Photograph: Cesar Rodriguez/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Raw sewage and runoff in the Tijuana River is exposing communities at the US-Mexico border to an unusual and noxious brew of pathogens and toxic chemicals, according to a report released this week.

Billions of gallons of sewage flow through the river, which winds north from Mexico through California and empties into the Pacific Ocean, containing a mix of carcinogenic chemicals including arsenic, as well as viruses, bacteria and parasites, according to public health researchers at San Diego State University, who published the report.