San Francisco’s growing homeless epidemic has impacted the city significantly over the past decade, but the reach of problems is stretching out towards the golden coast. Beachgoers have already felt the effects of the homeless camps along Sacramento’s American River in late August, where alarmingly high amounts of E. coli bacteria were found along the lower stretch of the river—three times higher than the federal safety threshold.
The proximity of the bacteria to civilians is horrid and deeply concerning. Locals longing to take a dip in the sparkling waters are risking their health if they do so, and it certainly hasn’t gone over well with some more determined citizens, who swim regardless of the health concerns. Others have no idea about the defecation upstream at all.
Officials seem unusually hesitant to place the blame on the homeless camps near the river. They have allocated $800,000 in taxpayer funds towards a scientific study to source the bacteria, rather than trying to tackle the most plausible root of the problem. Rangers have been trying their best to issue citations for public defecation, but campers have learned to avoid them.
There have been attempts at getting the homeless off the streets and into shelters, but such efforts are primarily focused on homelessness in the major cities. Half-baked initiatives to create better public bathrooms, most of which have been largely abandoned after their pilot year, have also been introduced.
The lack of drive to fix issues that pose severe danger to the public only proves the ineffectiveness of our current Democratic legislators. It is crucial to change our political leadership in light of these disastrous conditions. This is only one in a long line of failures across California, with more soon to come unless the people take action now.
