Three years of closed beaches. One fragile ecosystem. Can we fix the Tijuana River crisis?
SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — It may look like a forgotten junkyard—but it’s actually one of San Diego’s most fragile ecosystems.
Piles of tires, trash, and raw sewage are choking the Tijuana River Valley, and the pollution, largely from across the border, has plagued the area for decades.
Experts Call for Urgent Action
The tour, made up of environmental leaders, scientists, and agency officials, stopped at key sites like Smuggler’s Gulch and Goat Canyon, locations where cross-border sewage, stormwater runoff, and debris enter the U.S.
“This is an amazing natural resource that we all have a shared interest and a shared passion to protect and restore,” said Phillip Musegaas, Executive Director of San Diego Coastkeeper.
Musegaas says the root of the crisis is overwhelmed sewage infrastructure in Tijuana. Every day, an estimated 25 million gallons of untreated sewage flows from Mexico into the Pacific Ocean, and currents push it straight toward San Diego’s beaches.
“That’s why we’ve seen three years of beach closures in Imperial Beach,” he said.
Beyond water quality, the pollution also affects air quality. Communities in South County are regularly exposed to noxious sewer gases, especially at night.
“We need to take quick action to reduce the sewer levels, to reduce the pollution levels, to clean up the air, and to reduce that harm it’s doing to communities every day,” Musegaas said.
Signs of Progress
There’s hope on the horizon. At the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, new capacity is being added to treat an additional 10 million gallons per day, starting as soon as September.
“That’s significant,” Musegaas said. “We have the funding now to fix this infrastructure once and for all.”
Meanwhile, at Goat Canyon, a sediment basin and floating trash net system is showing results, capturing up to 50 tons of trash and 5,000 tires annually before the flow reaches the protected Tijuana Estuary.
“This is what diverts the flows of this drainage into the sediment basins,” said Chris Peregrin with California State Parks, pointing to the trash net system. “It helps prevent solid waste from entering sensitive habitat.”
Binational Solutions Still Needed
At Smuggler’s Gulch, experts pointed out another challenge—runoff from ongoing highway construction in Mexico. Without proper stormwater controls, sediment, sewage, and industrial debris continue to spill into the U.S. during heavy rains.
“That affects the communities that live here. That affects the ocean ecology,” Musegaas said. “And it’s something that could be fixed if Mexico just did simple stormwater controls.”
A Coalition Pushing for Change
The tour was organized by a coalition of 11 organizations, all working to restore the Tijuana River Valley and hold governments accountable on both sides of the border.
“We finally have the momentum,” Musegaas said. “Now we need to make sure it gets done—and gets done quickly.”