SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — The Tijuana River has made the Top 10 “most endangered rivers in America” list, a designation published by American Rivers, an environmental advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.
The designation was made public in the non-profit’s annual “America’s Most Endangered Rivers” report, released on Tuesday.
The Tijuana River is No. 9 on the list due to the “ongoing health and safety risks posed by pollution in the waterway.”
According to the report, the yearly transboundary flows in the Tijuana River measure upwards of 35 to 50 million gallons per day, which includes sewage from Tijuana, untreated wastewater from a failing plant, and toxic industrial waste poured from factories.
“Arguably the worst ongoing public health and environmental health crisis in the country,” said Zach Plopper, environmental director with the Surfrider Foundation. “Since January 21 of this year, over 25 billion gallons of sewage has flowed through the river.”
On its website, Surfrider says it is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches for all people.
The group, along with Un Mar de Colores, an environmental group made up of surfers from both sides of the border, reportedly provided data and information to American Rivers about the pollution in the Tijuana River and the ocean.
This reportedly led to the inclusion of the Tijuana River in the Top 10 list.
“People are getting sick standing in their front yards, doing their job, going to school, we’re using this designation as a call to action,” Plopper said, adding that he hopes this national exposure will lead to more funding and resources to fight the sewage and toxic spills in the river, materials that flow into the U.S. from south of the border.
“It is our hope that the designation of the Tijuana River as one of the most endangered rivers in the country will be a turning point to get funding and resources so desperately needed to ensure a clean and accessible Tijuana River Valley,” he said.
Bethany Case and other residents of Imperial Beach, the American city most impacted by the pollution that flows in the Tijuana River, applauded the news and see the river being on the Top 10 list as a positive.
“This designation means so much to our family and our community,” Case said.
Her family lives, works and attends school in Imperial Beach or near the Tijuana River Valley.
“It means the health of the watershed will continue to be a priority not only locally but nationally and that we are able to spread our message and our stories further than we ever thought possible,” she said.
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