Urban populations along the U.S.-Mexico border have increased significantly in the last 20 years and failure of the region’s infrastructure to keep pace with growth has strained natural resources and impacted both the environment and public health in the region (EPA 2012). Today, approximately ninety percent of the population in the border region is concentrated in urban centers like Tijuana and San Diego, where rapid growth has resulted in unplanned development, increased waste generation, overburdened or unavailable waste treatment as well as adverse impacts to water quality (EPA 2012). Perhaps some of the most serious problems can be observed along the Baja California border coast where communities are affected by chronic and mostly unmonitored discharges of sewage, which can then flow north into the United States (NRDC 2002; SCCWRP 2000). The presence of sewage in coastal waters is a significant environmental and public health risk that dramatically impacts border communities in the United States and Mexico. Pathogens in sewage-contaminated waters can cause a wide range of illnesses – eye, skin and upper respiratory tract infections, gastroenteritis, dysentery and viral illnesses like hepatitis A, among many others (SMBRP 1995; SCCWRP 2000). Children, pregnant women, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems are at the greatest risk of illness. The U.S. EPA estimates that between 1.8 and 3.5 million swimmers get sick in the United States alone every year as a result of sanitary sewer overflows. Because of a current lack of data, there are no corresponding illness estimates for Mexico. However, the Bight 98 study conducted by the Southern California Coastal Water Monitoring Project showed that bacterial standards were exceeded five times more often at Mexican beaches than U.S. beaches, owing to the presence of human fecal contamination in the water, entering beaches as untreated sewage (SCCWRP 2000). Perhaps most distressing is the chronic lack of timely official public information on beach pollution and complete absence of beach closures in Mexico, which presents a serious public health and environmental justice problem.
To address these transboundary water pollution issues and shortcomings, the BWQMP works closely with a binational coalition of environmental organizations, academics and citizens called the Ja Jan Coaltion to implement the Border Communities Water Pollution Right-to-Know and Education Project. The Ja Jan (meaning ‘clean water’ in the region’s Pai Pai language) Coalition was founded in March 2001, following an EPA sponsored Estuary Monitoring workshop in Tijuana Mexico which brought together groups from both sides of the border for the first time. Since 2001, Ja Jan has been implementing the Border Coastal Water Monitoring Project, receiving recognitions by State (2002 California Governor’s Economic and Environmental Leadership Award) and regional agencies (2003 County of San Diego Project Clean Water Award) for environmental work conducted in the border region. In 2003 alone, Ja Jan conducted 23 biweekly beach monitoring events extending from Imperial Beach to Ensenada and detected and reported some 58 bacterial indicator exceedences to the public. Also in 2003, Ja Jan was directly involved in recruiting, training and coordinating well over 2000 border residents to participate in large scale events like Coastal Snapshot Day 2003, Coastal Cleanup Day 2003, and World Water Monitoring Day 2003, among others.
Most recently, the California-Baja California Working Group of the U.S-Mexico Border 2012 Program recently adopted the establishment of an official coastal monitoring program for the region by the year 2006, as one of four overarching environmental goals to address water issues in the region. This goal was based in large part on the beach pollution information collected and reported to the U.S. EPA by Ja Jan between 2002 and 2003. While the goal of establishing an official monitoring materializes Ja Jan will continue to collect this important environmental information and report it to the public. Ja Jan members and collaborators include: Environmental Attorney Carla Garcia Zendejas (Tijuana), Centro Educativo Tipai (Ensenada), Grupo Ecologista Gaviotas (Tijuana), San Diego County Surfrider Foundation (San Diego), Pro Esteros (Ensenada), Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve (San Diego), San Diego Coastkeeper (San Diego) and a binational team of leading technical and educational experts from regional universities and NGOs.
Current Projects:
Border Beach Water Pollution Right-to-Know and Education Project
Baja California Indigenous Communities Drinking Water Survey
Monitoring Sites:
Monitoring Frequency: Biweekly and Semi-Monthly
Type of Effort: Volunteer and applied research water quality monitoring Water Quality Parameter(s) measured: Total coliform, E. coli and Enteroccoci