Where speaking up changes what gets built

Decisions about the sewage crisis are made in public meetings, and public comment is on the record. You don't need to be an expert: a short, specific comment from someone who lives with the problem carries weight. This page shows where decisions happen and exactly how to take part.

Where to speak, and about what

San Diego County Board of Supervisors

Meetings are at the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 310, in downtown San Diego, unless the agenda says otherwise.

• Find the agenda. Agendas are posted at least 72 hours ahead, usually the Wednesday before. Look for items on the Tijuana River, the river valley, or beach water quality. Board of Supervisors agendas
• Comment in writing. Submit an eComment on any agenda item from when the agenda is posted until the meeting starts. It goes to every supervisor and into the official record. Submit an eComment
• Speak in person or by phone. Register ahead at publiccomment.sandiegocounty.gov, choose the meeting, in person or phone, and the items you want to speak on. Speakers usually get two minutes, sometimes cut to one when many people sign up. How to comment at board meetings
• Topics not on the agenda. You can speak during non-agenda public comment on anything within the board's responsibility. The board can't act on it that day, but it can ask staff to follow up.
• Listen live by calling 619-531-4716 (listen only), or watch the livestream from the agenda page.
• Language help. Spanish interpretation is available for speakers. Other languages can be arranged with at least 72 hours' notice by calling the Clerk of the Board at 619-531-5434.

Imperial Beach City Council

Meetings are at 6 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of each month in Council Chambers, 825 Imperial Beach Boulevard. City Council meetings and agendas

• Speak in person by filling out a Request to Speak card at the meeting, for an agenda item or during public comment. Use a separate card for each item. Speakers usually get up to three minutes.
• Speak remotely by Zoom or phone. The connection details are on each agenda. Raise your hand in Zoom, or press *9 on the phone, to ask to speak.
• Comment in writing through the agenda itself: open the meeting under Upcoming Meetings, choose the agenda item, and leave a comment. It goes to the council and into the record, but isn't read aloud. Regular meetings take written comments until noon on the day; special meetings, until three hours before. Meeting information and written comments
• Emailed comments are no longer accepted. Use the comment form on the agenda item instead.
• Watch on the city's livestream, on its YouTube channel, or on Cox Channel 24 inside city limits.
• Language help. You can bring someone to interpret for you. The city will set aside space for them if you ask the City Clerk in writing at least 24 hours before the meeting: cityclerk@imperialbeachca.gov, (619) 628-2347, or TTY 711.

San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board

The board meets at 2375 Northside Drive, Suite 108, San Diego, and online. Most meetings include the executive officer's update on transboundary flows from Mexico, and the board oversees the South Bay plant's discharge permit.

• Check the agenda for Tijuana River or South Bay plant items. Board meeting agendas
• To speak, register ahead for in-person or remote comment. Comments are limited to three minutes. How to participate remotely
• To watch only, use the CalEPA webcast at video.calepa.ca.gov.
• Email written comments on informational items, like the transboundary flows update, to rb9agenda@waterboards.ca.gov. Put the agenda item number and title in the subject line, and send it before the deadline on that month's agenda.
• Written comments on permits have their own deadlines, listed in each item's public notice.

USIBWC San Diego Citizens Forum

The U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission holds public forums in the San Diego area, in person and online, where staff update the public on the South Bay plant, transboundary flows, and projects in Mexico. It's one of the few places to ask the agency questions directly. Meeting notices, join links, and presentations are posted on the IBWC's site. To speak during public comment, sign up ahead of time with the contact listed in the meeting notice. The forum occasionally takes applications for volunteer board members. The most recent meeting listed on the IBWC's site was on June 12, 2025. IBWC San Diego Citizens Forum meetings and IBWC Tijuana River updates

Your elected officials

Much of the money for fixes is decided in Washington and Sacramento.

• Congress: find your representative and contact your senators. District lines have changed, so check with your address.
• California Legislature: find your state legislators.
• County supervisor: Imperial Beach is in District 1, represented by Supervisor Paloma Aguirre. Elsewhere in the county, find your district.
• EPA and Mexico's environment ministry invite questions and comments on their joint agreement: press@epa.gov and comunicacion.social@semarnat.gob.mx.

Making your comment count

• Name the item or project. "Item 12, the Saturn Boulevard culvert fix" is easier to act on than "the sewage." The project tracker has names, owners, and status.
• Make one clear ask. Fund it, speed it up, report on it, or answer a question.
• Say how it affects you. Where you live, what you smell, when you can't go in the water, what it's cost you.
• Written comments count. If you can't make a meeting, a written comment goes into the same record.
• Stay on topic and respectful. Boards follow decorum rules, and a calm, specific comment is more likely to be quoted and followed up.

On ballot measures, this site explains the arguments on each side but doesn't tell anyone how to vote. See News for explainers.

Each of these on the map

The same places to speak up, with the area each one covers and the problems it helps with.