Tijuana River Valley: The Problem Surrounding this Ecosystem

The Tijuana River Valley is located in Southwest San Diego just along the border of Mexico; outlined in purple of the image from Google Maps. It is along this border that the two countries share goods, food, culture but also pollution. The Tijuana River crosses the border into the US through this valley and with the river comes tons of trash every year. Storm waters bring plastic bottles, tires, plastic bags and other trash in the valley and the Tijuana Estuary. Here is a picture that I took myself of the river in its current state.

As you can see the river is dried up, leaving behind the trash. Historically, the river has not been contaminated by trash. Here is a picture of someone holding up a photo taken in 2008 in a current picture of the river in 2011:


http://www.theleucadiablog.com/2011/04/plastic-man-at-pec.html

Just within a matter of three years the pollution that was not as prevalent in the river is now the every day appearance of the river. Pollution in the Tijuana River Valley has been a problem since the 20th Century as Tijuana and San Ysidro have limited water treatment. While the two countries have worked together in order to work on the proper disposal of sewage, litter continues to travel in the river, especially during storm season. Within the Tijuana River Valley are several protected lands including the Tijuana Estuary, Tijuana River Valley Regional Park, Borderfield State Park and the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge. Since 2006, more than 40 acres of salt marsh has been destroyed due to the pollution of the river and sediment carried by storm water into these protected areas (http://www.wildcoast.net/content/programs/3/factsheet/ISSUE_BRIEFING_final.pdf?1281048425).