Ther Tijuana River Watershed

The Tijuana River Watershed

Essential Question: What is the current state of the Tijuana river watershed and how are people being affected by it.

The Tijuana River watershed is approximately 1750 square miles and stretches from the Laguna mountains in the U.S. to the sierra de Juarez mountains in Mexico. Most of the watershed lies in Mexico with only about 27% lying in the U.S. The Tijuana River Watershed has many environmental issues and life in the watershed is very poor. People living in the watershed face many. A booming population growth, shortage of clean drinking water, flooding, and erosion are the main issues people face that are living in the watershed.

Water quality and quantity is one of the most pressing issues that people living in the watershed face. Rainfall average is only about 10 inches per year making water very scarce in the watershed. For this reason clean drinking water is imported from the Colorado River for much of the population living there. However, important drinking water can be very expensive and many cant afford this source of clean drinking water. Affordable clean drinking water is becoming more scarce each year and many people look for alternatives. Many people who can not afford imported water drink ground water from the Tijuana river watershed as an alternative to the clean imported water. This is a major problem because drinking this water can be very hazardous and cause many health problems. Experts taking data from the U.S. side of the watershed have measured some of the highest concentrations of suspended solids in California. There are sure too be even higher concentrations on the Mexican side of the watershed. These suspended solids can accumulate in humans and cause many health problems. Sewage runoff, fertilizers and pesticides commonly contaminate aquifers leading to even more health problems. However, the Mexicans are not the only ones polluted the Tijuana river watershed. The U.S. also plays a big role in the contaminated water as U.S. agriculture and industrial waste flow down onto the Mexican side of the Tijuana river watershed. All this condemnations of water can cause many health problems. Hospitals around the area have noticed an increase in birth defects, tuberculosis, retardation, and kids being born without brains.

Erosion is also a major issue in the watershed. The Tijuana river watershed has a steep hilly terrain making a high potential for erosion. The removal of much vegetation which holds the ground together in place of development has helped to escalate the problem. Furthermore the infrastructure in the Tijuana river watershed is very weak. Most of the houses built on the steep hillsides are unplanned squatter settlements which are very unstable. With steep hilly terrain, the removal of vegetation,