Report Water Waste and Pollution

Report Water Waste and Pollution in San Diego

You play an essential role in protecting San Diego’s water by being the eyes and ears of our local response agencies. By reporting pollution and water waste when you see it, you can help protect our creeks, lakes, lagoons, bays, and coast – and the communities and wildlife that depend on them. Coastkeeper is not an official response agency. But we can help ensure your observations get to the right place and the appropriate action is taken. 

How to Report Water Waste and Pollution in San Diego

If you see an instance of water waste in the City of San Diego, it should be reported to the City of San Diego’s water waste hotline via email, app, or call. Whether it is a broken sprinkler head or watering for too long, the City and Coastkeeper want to hear about it so the owners/operators of the system can be made aware of and address the problem. In other areas, please contact the local municipal department phone number below and your local water supply agency. If you see someone dumping anything onto street surfaces, into creeks, lagoons, or storm drains in San Diego County, please report it immediately.

Options for Reporting Water and Waste Pollution

Call the San Diego County Regional Hotline at 1-888-846-0800.

The County of San Diego will respond to all complaints in unincorporated areas and will refer complaints in the incorporated cities to the appropriate jurisdictions. During business hours, a staff person should answer your call. After hours, you can leave a message with details of your report.

To speak to someone immediately, call SEMA at 1-800-852-7550.

The SEMA hotline is staffed 24 hours a day.

To report an oil spill, chemical release, or maritime security incident call 1-800-424-8802.

4. Report pollution or water waste in a specific area

Please contact the appropriate municipality department below.

Municipality Contact Information
City of San Diego Stormwater drain pollution prevention hotline: (619) 235-1000 or (888) THINK-BLUE. You may also email them at [email protected].
City of San Diego Prevent Water Waste Hotline: (619) 533-5271
City of Carlsbad (760) 438-2722
City of Chula Vista (619) 397-6000
City of Coronado To report spills or discharges, contact Public Services at (619) 522-7380 during regular working hours or the Police Department at (619) 522-7350 between 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Monday – Friday and on weekends
City of Del Mar (858) 755-9313
City of El Cajon Storm Water Hotline: (619) 441-1653
City of Encinitas Clean Water Hotline: (Mon-Fri 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) at (760) 633-2787 or after hours: (760) 633-2922
City of Escondidio (760) 839-4668
City of Imperial Beach (619) 424-4095
City of La Mesa Storm Water Pollution Prevention Hotline: (619) 667-1134
City of Lemon Grove Stormdrain Hotline: (619) 825-3827
City of Miramar (954) 704-4431
City of National City (619) 336-4389
City of Oceanside Urban Runoff Hotline: (760) 435-4500
Port of San Diego Port Tidelands – (619) 686-6254 or Off-Port Tidelands – (888) 846-0800
City of Poway (858) 668-4700
San Diego Bay Harbor Police: (619) 686-6272
City of Santee (619) 258-4100 (x168)
City of Solana Beach Contact Dan King: (858) 720-2477
City of Vista Stormwater Hotline: (760) 726-1340 x 1686

5. Fill out our Water Waste and Pollution Incident Form

If you prefer, San Diego Coastkeeper can submit your observations and report. To do this, please fill out the form below and submit your report to our online system, and we will get it to the right agency. While we prefer you fill out the form below for our records, you can also call our office at (619) 608-0860 and leave a detailed message, including your phone number.

Water Waste and Pollution Incident Form

We encourage you to fill out our online reporting form even if you have contacted one of the response agencies. This helps us track how well our local governments respond to pollution reports.