Last year, Playa Hermosa in Ensenada was not only the town’s but also the country’s most polluted beach. Now, this concerning title has shifted to California Beach in El Sauzal, as highlighted by Gabriel Camacho Jiménez, the director of the Mexican Civic Association. “We’ve been conducting water quality assessments at California Beach and the Cuatro Milpas stream. The data shows readings surpassing standard limits, indicating concerning levels of fecal coliforms and significant enterococci contamination,” Jiménez expressed.
This activist confirmed these troubling findings with data recently released by the State Commission for Protection against Health Risks (Coepris), which also reported high contamination levels. “Following these results, the Clean Beaches Committee opted to shut down California Beach. It remains the only beach officially closed now, albeit merely in bureaucratic terms. Visitors will find no red warning flags on site, and several individuals continue to frequent the beach. It’s imperative that effective measures are adopted to safeguard public health,” he emphasized.
Jiménez further remarked that California Beach is currently the dirtiest in Baja California. “We’ve lodged complaints with Profepa, Conagua, and Coepris. The head of Cespe has admitted that firms based in Fondeport have been illicitly and secretly discharging biological waste into the sewage system. This activity has inflicted damage upon El Sauzal’s treatment facility,” he detailed. Concluding his address, Jiménez called on the Ensenada Municipal Clean Beaches Committee to take decisive action by putting up clear warnings to prevent the public from entering the contaminated beach area.
