Beach Closed Following Sewage Spill

Updated 2:10 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to include additional details about the sewage spill.

Around 1 p.m. Tuesday Imperial Beach waters were closed to beachgoers following a sewage spill in Mexico. 

A spill of more than one million gallons of untreated sewage at Playas de Tijuana 3/4 of a mile from the border prompted the closure, according to San Diego County Department of Environmental Health officials.

Lifeguards actively removed people from the water, witnesses said.

Yellow signs indicating the closure have been posted.

Beaches from north Imperial Beach to the U.S.-Mexico border have been closed.

Silver Strand State Beach remains open.

The spill from a broken pipe was first detected by Tijuana water utility officials (CESPT) Monday evening and are working to make repairs, said Sally Spencer with the International Water and Boundary Commission.

Beach closures are a regular occurance during the wet season, but rarely occur during the dry summer season.

The signs will remain in place until samples show that bacteria levels have fallen within state water-quality standards.