Toxic gas from a disgusting sewage disaster in San Diego’s South Bay is forcing some residents out of their homes.
New data from UC San Diego’s Airborne Institute shows hydrogen sulfide levels reaching 150 times the state’s safety standard of 30 parts per billion.
On Sunday, levels topped 2,000 parts per billion—higher than what’s typically seen at wastewater treatment plants, according to ABC10.
“These levels are levels that workers in wastewater treatment plants put on all their PPE and walk around, right? The community doesn’t have that,” said UC San Diego professor Dr. Kimberly Prather.
The spike mirrors conditions last seen in September 2024 and signals a new phase in the region’s long-running sewage crisis.
For Imperial Beach resident Sonia Mayorga, it’s already unbearable.
“We have a beautiful home, with my family over there, we can’t go back because it’s so toxic,” Mayorga told ABC. “I literally wanna cry. I wanna go back and I can’t.”
Mayorga said she and her husband suffer headaches, nausea, and throat irritation at home, but improve when they leave.
“Our bodies can’t handle it, so we have to be out,” she said, adding, “We can’t go back.”
Officials say the crisis is reaching a breaking point.
“It’s a milestone nobody wants,” said San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre. “We’re entering a new era of crisis.”
Recent data also shows hydrogen sulfide levels stayed above the state limit overnight on April 5—the first time that’s happened.
“I’ve never had so many people in the community essentially begging for help. It’s really, really, a very sad and troubling situation that has to end,” Prather said.
Furthermore, Prather noted that hydrogen sulfide is just one of the thousands of different harmful gases they have detected, per the outlet.
She has urged Gov. Gavin Newsom–in an open letter on Facebook–to declare a state of emergency, calling it “an air quality crisis with no parallel anywhere else in the United States.”
Aguirre said candidates, including Tom Steyer, Matt Mahan, Katie Porter, and Betty Yee, have pledged to act if elected.
