The Future of the Tijuana River Valley

http://mbiru.com/tour/border-field-state-park-2.html

What is the likely future of the Tijuana River Valley?
If pollution continues as it's currently going, the Tijuana River Valley will continue to be polluted and the water contaminated. The animals around this ecosystem will continue to mistake trash for food and harm themselves and the possibility of further devastating protected lands and salt marshes is still very real. While sewage treatment plants have been opened in Tijuana in accordance to the Bajagua treatment plan. Sewage spills have become less frequent within the past 10 years but just last year in 2010 there was a 2.1 million gallon sewage spill in the Tijuana River Valley that was not caught by water authorities on either side of the border. With every winter rain fall more land and water is threatened with contamination as storm water brings in the pollution to the Valley.

What can be done to improve the cycle of pollution in the Tijuana River Valley?

The US and Mexico need to work closely together to continue efforts to build more water reclamation plants and sewage treatment centers that meet US standards. The US should also help to finance these plants and treatment centers as the pollution problem is just as much Mexico's problem as it is an issue for the United States. While legislation is current in motion (such as SB-167) there also needs to be an effort to education the public on the health risks of living, swimming or playing in contaminated water where water-borne illnesses are prevalent as well as the risks of consuming fish that have been exposed to toxic water. The efforts of organizations who are trying to educate the public and organize clean-ups should also be sponsored by the government as much if not all of the Tijuana River Valley is county, state or federal protected lands.

Sources:
WiLDCOAST/COSTASALVAjE
http://www.wildcoast.net/programs
http://www.wildcoast.net/content/programs/3/factsheet/ISSUE_BRIEFING_final.pdf?1281048425

Surfrider Foundation
http://sandiego.surfrider.org/solving-border-pollution-woes

http://www.goldenstateimages.com/GSI_search.php?srch=pollution%20tijuana%20river%20valley&op=ex

http://www.oceanlight.com/log/tijuana-river-pollution-san-diego.html

http://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/blog/sick-of-sewage/item/20-reactions-to-21-million-gallon-sewage-spill-in-tijuana-river-valley.html

http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/media/San-Diego-Magazine/December-2007/A-Sewer-Runs-Through-It/Sewage-History-of-Tijuana/

Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve
http://trnerr.org/?p=1421
http://trnerr.org/?page_id=34

http://buy-a-house-san-diego.com/local-san-diego-events/imperial-beach-sandcastle-competition/

Contaminated Water

Below is a table depicting the bacterial levels in the Pacific Ocean in areas in and around the Tijuana River Valley on 11/15/2011:

LOCATION

PC

250' from Tijuana River Mouth

500

3/4 mile North of River Mouth

500

South end of Seacoast Dr

1100

Cortez St

1300

Imperial Beach PIER

2200

Imperial Beach Blvd

3000

Carnation St

500

ACCEPTABLE LEVELS

400

This information was provided by a WiLDCOAST (http://www.wildcoast.net/media-center/news/422) from a sample taken on the bacteria levels. As you can see from the table, after the rainfall during that weekend the bacterial levels in the water are far above the acceptable levels for the ocean. This poses a health risk for humans throughout the area as well as the marine animals in and outside of the water. Fish that are exposed to this water have presumably consumed these toxins in the water through the bacteria and in turn will also affect the humans who eat the fish they catch from this area. These bacteria levels result in closures of beaches and parks in the area.

http://www.wildcoast.net/media-center/news/411-south-end-of-imperial-beach-shoreline-closed-due-to-runoff-from-the-tijuana-river

Here is also an aerial picture of this border area where the pollution in the water is clearly visible:

http://fisheadsfliesnlore.com/?p=1558

Human Impacts

Uploaded above is a video I took on my visit to the Tijuana River Valley that depicts the main human impact on the River and surrounding areas: trash. Every year tons of trash flow through the river into the valley. A recent trash clean-up sponsored by WiLDCOAST (an environmental organization taking strides to work on the contamination of the river) found 153 tires in the river. The contamination of the river has consequences for the surrouding environment. Whenever it rains, this trash filled contaminated water is rushed into the Pacific Ocean causing beach closures in San Diego, threatening human health with infections from viral or bacteria including Hepatitis A. The river only needs a quarter of an inch of rainfall to begin the flow into the ocean. (http://www.wildcoast.net/programs/3-u-s-mex-border-coastal   http://www.wildcoast.net/programs/3-u-s-mex-border-coastal)

The trash found in this area is also harmful to the animals within this ecosystem. Many birds and other animals who call the valley their home mistake the trash for food and harm themselves. As a result of the contaminated water flowing into the ocean many marine animals suffer from the contamination, such as fish, which are later eaten by bigger animals on the food chain including humans. These animals are being affected by the toxic industrial fluids and concentrations of metal in the water and are hazardous to consume.

As mentioned previously, the surround protected lands are being destroyed and threatened by the flow of trash and contaminated water. The sediment that is carried by storm water has destroyed 40 acres of salt marsh within the Tijuana Estuary (http://www.wildcoast.net/content/programs/3/factsheet/ISSUE_BRIEFING_final.pdf?1281048425). Because these areas are contaminated and dangerous many parts of the protected lands have been closed and are no longer accessible to pedestrians, one example being Friendship Park where people from both sides of the border were able to communicate to one another, captured here:

http://trnerr.org/?page_id=34

The health impacts because of human litter in the river affect both sides of the border. Not only are beaches closed on the US side of the border because of water contamination but on the Mexico side many people in Tijuana are not aware of the health risks and use the river water.

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).