The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday voted to put someone in charge of coordination and accountability in addressing the Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis.
The Board agreed to create a County Pollution Crisis Chief position that will serve as the central point for coordinating “sewage-related response efforts, monitoring of public health, infrastructure mitigation, emergency response and advocacy.”
“When I introduced my 5-point plan during the campaign, I promised that we would no longer tackle the Tijuana River sewage crisis with a fragmented approach. Today, by establishing the County Pollution Crisis Chief, we are fulfilling that promise. This role creates the single point of accountability our residents deserve, ensuring that every drop of redirected effort and every dollar of funding is coordinated to finally protect our community’s health and our coastline,” said San Diego Board Chair Pro Tem Paloma Aguirre, who represents Chula Vista and National City at the county level.
According to the County, the position was first called for in a comprehensive five-point action plan introduced by Aguirre who was then–Imperial Beach Mayor, and brought forward to the County Board by Chair Terra Lawson-Remer in June 2025.
Since Supervisor Aguirre’s election to the Board last summer, the two have continued advancing the proposal together — including forming the Board’s Sewage Crisis Subcommittee and introducing the subcommittee’s first joint proposal alongside today’s action.
The Board’s action builds on prior steps taken by the County, including declaring a local state of emergency, expanding air and water quality monitoring, distributing air purifiers to affected residents, and pursuing a federal Superfund designation to secure long-term cleanup resources.
