The Tijuana River ranks second among the most endangered rivers in the country
The Tijuana River plagued Tijuana’s pristine sewage and industrial waste, for decades, beaches along the U.S.-Mexico coast were polluted by polluted water and stinking in communities in San Diego County.
Environmental group U.S. Rivers on Wednesday Tijuana River Ranking Second place Most endangered riversranked 9th from last year. The group said it raised the rivers on the list to focus more on chronic pollution problems in waterways and actions that lacked cleanup operations.
Another group of radicals from Surfrider Foundation are also circulating petition Calls on President Trump to declare a national emergency to speed up efforts to curb the flow of untreated sewage and clear rivers.
“The Tijuana River has shifted from pollution to a public health crisis. Raising the Tijuana River on our list of endangered rivers reflects that urgency,” said Ann Willis, Regional Director of River California, U.S. Rivers. “What we desperately need is the Trump administration to issue a federal emergency declaration. This will free up funds to solve some of the problems that are now.”
In addition to the U.S. government providing more funds to repair and maintain regularly decomposed sewage treatment facilities, environmental groups are asking Mexico to take other steps to address sewage leaks and make other improvements on the border side.
They noted that Mexico has made progress in recent years. Tijuana Recently A new sewage treatment plant has been built intact In the San Antonio de Los Buenos area, the project is part of a larger infrastructure plan developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“Both of our federal governments need to strengthen and do more,” said Sarah Davidson, manager of the Surfrider Clean Border Water program. “This will require cooperation at the border. It will require diplomacy and long-term funding from both governments, so it is necessary to find a way to work with the Mexican government.”
Willis said funds from the U.S. government are needed to repair the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant north of the border, which handles Tijuana’s sewage and is in disrepair, as well as measures such as pollution monitoring and health research in communities near the river.
“The pollution of the Tijuana River is not only loaded in the river itself, but when the river flows into the ocean, it moves into the air and the ocean spray turns the pollution into aerosol,” Willis said. “It’s not only a public health crisis targeting local communities, but also arousing our military.”
Environmental groups quoted the latest one Ministry of Defense report It shows that Navy SEALs and other service members have reported about 1,100 cases of disease and are exposed to high levels of bacteria as they train in and around the ocean near the border.
The Tijuana River flows 120 miles, starting from Baja California, into Southern California, and then reaching the Pacific Ocean at Empire Beach. Emissions from beaches and sewage treatment plants near the estuary have been closed regularly Due to the high bacterial level In the ocean.
Residents also raise concerns about potential health effects High levels of hydrogen sulfide and other gases and vapors emitted from the river.
“This is one of the ongoing public health and environmental justice crises in our country,” Davidson said. “This is similar to other environmental disasters, such as the water crisis in Flint, Michigan and elsewhere, and we really only need more awareness, greater pressure, and get more priorities in the federal government to get funding for the issues needed for solutions.”
Davidson and others wore respirators to protect themselves from air pollution when they held a press conference on the river on Wednesday.
“It really affects every aspect of the Tijuana Valley and its neighborhoods,” Davidson said. “So it’s a very desperate situation where we really only need all the help we get from government at all levels.”
