IB Is One of SD's Most Efficient Cities, Quality of Life Study Says

Imperial Beachians are some of the most efficient residents of San Diego County, according to some measurements in the 2013 Equinox Center Quality of Life Dashboard.

Released earlier this year, the dashboard gathers data from various sources and reviews topics like housing affordability, air quality, renewable energy, water consumption, water quality and other top quality of life indicators.

In the water consumption category, Imperial Beach joined Coronado and Chula Vista residents with some of the lowest municipal and industrial water consumption rates in the county.

Average pounds of waste disposed of per capita per day was also below the county average and among some of the lowest rates in the county. Waste per capita in IB even fell at one of the highest rates in San Diego County, according to 2012 Calrecycle data.

Total vehicle miles traveled daily was also among one of the lowest rates in San Diego County.

Among areas for improvement for IB, the continental United States most southwest city has the second highest unemployment rate in San Diego County.

When it comes to climate change, IB has fewer solar panels installed per 100 residents than almost another city in the county.

The City of Imperial Beach took part in the San Diego Bay Sea Level Rise Adaptation Strategy study that was released in January 2012 but has no greenhouse gas reduction targets or climate change adaptation plan and does not regularly monitor or evaluate the impact of climate change to the area.

Chula Vista, San Diego and Encinitas lead the region in municipal action on climate change, according to data collected by the Equinox Center.

The worst news the dashboard delivered for IB in quality of life metrics may be in air quality and ocean water quality.

Ocean water quality issues are well known in IB, with closures that regularly occur during the wet season. Imperial Beach and the Border Field State Park shoreline were two of three beaches in the county with more than 30 beach closures or advisories in 2011, according to county data.

When there is no flow from the Tijuana River or precipitation, Imperial Beach ocean water is about as clean as anywhere else in San Diego. The annual Heal the Bay report card gave many IB beaches passing grades during dry weather but "D" or "F" grades in wet weather.

After a reduction in closures and advisories from 2006-2009, San Diego County saw a drastic increase in 2010 and 2011 as precipitation averages started to climb.

The 91932 zip code joins others in Escondido and central San Diego for some of the worst rates of hospitalization for asthma for people under the age of 18.

Among a population of 7,570 people under the age of 18 in the 91932 zip code, 75 from IB were hospitalized for asthma.

As a region, San Diego has greatly improved its air quality, reducing the number of poor air quality days a year from near 60 in 2000 to 13 in 2011.

To see the full quality of life dashboard results and recommendations to improve local quality of life, visit the Equinox Center website or see the attached PDF.