The Tijuana River flows through the territory of Mexico and the United States and is infamous for being highly polluted by raw sewage. In August 2021, more than 1.8 million gallons of untreated sewage and urban runoff spilled across the US-Mexican border in the Tijuana River following an emergency stop of a pump station on the Mexican side. Over the past three years, south San Diego County beaches remain closed for the most part during the year due to pollution coming via the Tijuana River.
"Significant reduction of marine debris in the US requires addressing systemic challenges in the Tijuana River Watershed," Eguiarte said. "Evidence and lessons learned from decades of TRNERR’s focused efforts on addressing marine debris has illuminated areas of greatest need: immediate and innovative strategies/approaches, leadership of elected officials and decision-makers in the area of solid waste management, increased knowledge and training, flood resilience, and detection and removal."
Since 2010, nearly 23,000 volunteers have cleaned up approximately 500,000 pounds of land-based marine debris from the Tijuana River, Eguiarte said.
Sensitive habitats and critical infrastructure along the Tijuana Rivera are overwhelmed with solid waste during every storm event, Eguiarte said, adding that it is critical to acquire more immediate resources to remove debris from the river.
The Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve plans to launch a pilot program that aims to eliminate waste and encourage recycling, which is a key concept that has garnered unprecedented support across the global plastics system, Eguiarte said.
However, Eguiarte pointed out this pilot program could affect a community center in Tijuana, Mexico, that provides emergency shelter for refugees from Haiti and Central America.
The regular turnover of Mexican government officials - both elected officials and their staff - has also presented challenges to maintaining institutional knowledge and leadership on issues of solid waste management in the City of Tijuana, Eguiarte said.
"A healthy environment is a right of the general public, and coordinated work between countries generates great results," Eguiarte said.
The United States and Mexico must sustain cooperation permanently to address the environmental problems that affect the binational Tijuana River basin, and the first of the approaches is to work with Mexico to control pollution from the source, Eguiarte said.