- Households affected by Tijuana sewage odors can now enter a San Diego County drawing to receive a free air purifier.
Launched Friday, the pilot program offers an opportunity to sign up by 3 p.m. Aug. 14, when the county will conduct a randomized drawing and select the people who will get an air purifier, according to its website.
The county recommends interested households “act fast” because “(w)e only have a limited supply.”
In June, the county Board of Supervisors approved spending $100,000 for purifiers and developing a program to distribute them. It’s unclear how many the county will give away, but the model it has selected costs about $230, according to the manufacturer’s website. Each one will be offered with two replacement filters.
Those eligible must live within the zip codes 91932, 92154 and 92173. Only one person per household can sign up by filling out an online form or calling 619-595-4535. If selected, the county will provide instructions on where and when to pick up the air purifier.
If your household is not selected, the county recommends checking its website “for details on possible future opportunities.”
Residents living in and around the Tijuana River Valley have repeatedly complained about noxious odors stemming from untreated wastewater and toxic chemicals that spill over the border from Mexico. Many say the stench has led to chronic coughs, migraines and nausea, symptoms they say improve when leaving their neighborhoods.
County officials say the air purifiers are intended to serve as a short-term solution to bring relief as broader efforts are being made to curb cross-border pollution, such as repairs to broken wastewater treatment infrastructure on both sides of the border.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District have received dozens of complaints about nauseating odors this year. They typically respond to complainants via email with updates on wastewater infrastructure projects. The agencies also end up referring each other.
Imperial Beach resident Toni Trinidad, who has sent in complaints, said the back-and-forth responses to complaints have been unhelpful to people seeking urgent relief from nauseating odors.
“I get it that being a national border complicates it, but everyone seems to the buck,” she said.
But on Monday, the district stepped up its enforcement when it issued an air pollution violation to the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission, which manages wastewater infrastructure in the Tijuana River Valley. The notice was sent out after the district received 150 complaints about a stench that followed a five-hour spill of 300,000 gallons of untreated wastewater in June.
The federal agency said Wednesday that it was reviewing the notice.
