Water Quality Index Score: 12, Poor
Let’s acknowledge that we only gathered one sample from the Tijuana Watershed in 2014. Thankfully, the Tijuana-based sewage treatment plant handles and purifies 50 million gallons of river water every day, but it can’t handle wet weather flows. So, when it rains, the operators divert the river flow without treatment, and that’s when we can sample the river. This is also why Imperial Beach beaches are frequently closed during the winter.
Our only sample in 2014 follows a massive rain event in December. That sample showed:
- Bacteria levels were extremely high – even diluting the sample 100 fold, the concentrations were still higher than our test kits can measure
- Ammonia, nitrate, and phosphorus levels were off the charts
- Volunteers had to sludge through very sticky, smelly mud to collect the water samples – thanks!
This watershed presents a lot of cross-border collaboration and love to truly understand and solve the interconnected water quality issues. We’re looking for passionate volunteers to get trained in water quality monitoring so they can champion efforts in this challenging watershed. What are you waiting for? Sign up to get trained!
