YMCA Surf Camp forced out of Imperial Beach

IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) -- One of the most unique YMCA locations is in Imperial Beach, located right on the beach.

"Historically we've been able to teach all of our kids surfing. We don't have to leave the property but it's here on site," said Kapili Pasa, waterfront manager with the YMCA.

However, Pasa says in the last three years they’ve battled water quality issues with sewage water coming from Tijuana.

"The water that is here in Imperial Beach is polluted, so we are not allowed to go into our water or have our kids surfing here on our site," she said.

In recent years, YMCA Camp Surf had to pivot, bussing hundreds of kids off site everyday to surf in Mission Beach and occasionally Coronado. But that area, is also dealing with some water quality issues as the pollution is making its way north.

Pasa says the additional bussing has cost the YMCA an extra $100,000 in cost, and moving the surfing experience has caused a roughly 40% drop in enrollment.

Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre says the federal government allocated millions of dollars to fix and expand the wastewater plant. While that is good she says the primary source of pollution is the Tijuana river itself.

"It needs to be diverted and treated. It carries toxins, viruses, that element of the project does not have funding yet. It does not have any environmental studies and that's why we're calling for state of emergency," Aguirre...