Four of five monitored beaches in Tijuana remain unsafe for swimming due to fecal contamination, according to new water quality testing published April 1 by Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental, a binational environmental group. The results come just days before Semana Santa, one of Mexico’s busiest beach periods of the year.
Playa Blanca recorded the worst contamination levels, with more than 5,000 enterococci bacteria per 100 milliliters of water. Mexico’s federal recreational safety limit is 200 enterococci per 100 milliliters, meaning Playa Blanca exceeded the standard by 25 times. Only El Faro beach passed the safety threshold in the March 31 sampling.
Tijuana: The Only Municipality Flagged Nationally
The testing results align with the most recent national beach water quality report from Cofepris (the Federal Commission for Protection Against Health Risks). That report listed Playa Tijuana as the only beach in all of Mexico not recommended for recreational use during the 2026 holiday period. No other municipality in the country received a blanket warning.
Enterococci are intestinal bacteria used as a standard indicator of sewage contamination in ocean water. Exposure can cause gastrointestinal illness, skin infections, and ear and eye infections, with children and people with weakened immune systems at higher risk.
Cross-Border Sewage Crisis Behind the Numbers
Local water officials have attributed the contamination to ongoing failures in wastewater infrastructure tied to the Tijuana River watershed. A long-delayed U.S. wastewater treatment plant near the border remains unfinished, allowing untreated or partially treated sewage to flow into the Pacific Ocean. The problem affects both sides of the border: beaches in Imperial Beach, California, have also faced repeated closures due to the same contamination.
This is not a new pattern. During Semana Santa 2024, Cofepris ordered Tijuana beaches sealed off and restricted until further notice. In April 2025, Tijuana Mayor Ismael Burgueño Ruiz urged residents to stay out of the water entirely, citing dangerously high pollution levels even during a concurrent red tide event.
Enforcement Remains a Problem
Tijuana has historically struggled to enforce beach closures. During past holiday periods, visitors have been photographed swimming despite posted warnings. The city has previously acknowledged it lacks the personnel to patrol the coastline and instead relies on the public to heed advisories.
Beachgoers planning to visit Baja California’s coast this week should note that beaches in Rosarito and Ensenada were approved for recreational use in the Cofepris report. Anyone heading to the Tijuana coastline should avoid entering the water at all monitored beaches except El Faro.
This story was first reported by Punto Norte on April 1, 2026.