(KGTV) — For people living near Saturn Boulevard in Imperial Beach, the sound and sight of sewage flowing through the area has become an everyday reality that has lasted for decades.
Longtime resident and local farmer Stephen Egger, who lives just up the road from the sewage flows, says the situation continues to take a toll on his family and neighbors.
“I’ve lived just north of here on our family homestead — all my 72 years,” Egger said.
But Egger says the area did not always look — or smell — this way.
“Right here used to be a beautiful green pasture. We had heifers grazing right out here. I mean, it was nice,” Egger said. “Once upon a time, the river was never here.”
Egger says the stench and health impacts have only gotten worse over time.
“Quite often we have headaches at night, and we get congestion and crud in our chest and just feel miserable,” he said.
He says the problem has affected generation after generation of families living in the area.
“It’s basically a sewer that floods the entire northern valley,” Egger said. “It’s totally changed and destroyed the northern valley. That’s why it needs to be moved back where it always was.”
Egger says the smell is something his family deals with nearly every night.
“Basically, about every night we smell it,” he said.
Over the years, he says his family has tried to adjust and protect themselves as much as possible.
“We put in dual-pane windows. We used to keep our windows open at night, but for the past three years our windows are closed day and night — and every night the same smell permeates our home,” Egger said.
The concerns come as EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin recently announced progress on several projects aimed at reducing sewage pollution impacting the South Bay.
But residents who live closest to the sewage crisis say the improvements are not happening fast enough.
“Things have started, and there are improvements, but it’s not happening fast enough,” Egger said. “It needs to be accelerated — but at least something is being done.”
He and others say until larger, long-term fixes are completed, they will continue living with the daily consequences of sewage pollution in their community.
