2025: A Growing Groundswell in the Struggle for Clean Border Water

Cover photo: Lisa Kaczmarczyk

The Tijuana River Watershed is a strikingly beautiful and deeply meaningful place for communities on both sides of the Mexico/U.S. border. It provides critical habitat to countless species and is the largest remaining coastal wetland in Southern California. Yet, each year, billions of gallons of untreated sewage, industrial waste, and trash flow across the border through the river and enter the Pacific Ocean, causing beach closures throughout South San Diego County and widespread illnesses throughout the region.  In 2025, that number reached more than 15.2 billion gallons in polluted transboundary flows.

Based in San Diego, Surfrider’s Clean Border Water Now Program addresses the transboundary pollution that is causing a grave public health and environmental justice crisis in the Southern California/Northern Baja border region.

WORKING TOGETHER FOR CLEAN BORDER WATER NOW IN 2025
Last year was full of ups and downs in the struggle for clean water in the border region.  Although the environmental catastrophe continued to threaten public health, the community response continued to grow, increasing and strengthening the impact of advocacy efforts.  Political pressures and infrastructure interventions gave way to momentary improvements in water and air quality that provided short periods of relief for residents.  The southernmost beach in San Diego County, Tijuana Sloughs, even opened for one day, on October 12 - an anomaly in the more than four years of consecutive days of beach closures.  These short-lived exceptions offered glimmers of hope for residents and water advocates and demonstrated that it’s possible once again to breathe clean air and enjoy outdoor (and indoor) spaces in the region.  Unfortunately, the reprieves faded as quickly as they arrived, leaving residents to continue enduring the toxic water and air that looms over their neighborhoods.

There were also a number of federal diplomatic interventions and promises made that succeeded in keeping public attention and momentum on the issue.  The EPA Administer, Lee Zeldin, made a visit to the border and South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant and met with a select few elected officials.  The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) accelerated the expansion of the treatment plant by 10MGD, and the U.S. and Mexico signed two new international agreements (a Memorandum of Understanding and Treaty Minute 333).  These new federal commitments and diplomatic developments were a step in the right direction, though they also left out some critical elements like the much needed river diversion project to protect frontline communities from breathing hydrogen sulfide and other harmful gasses.

Much of this progress was overshadowed by mounting federal pressures at the border, including the creation of a new “militarized zone” in the Tijuana Watershed and amplified stress and fear in the very communities already carrying the burden of living and working in a physically toxic environment.

Mindful of these overarching challenges, the Clean Border Water Now Program focused on building and strengthening a grassroots base and making strategic advocacy strides.  Together with local community partners, two campaigns were won at the federal level.  These victories secured a substantial amount of the funding needed to pay for water infrastructure improvement projects that reduce the flow of transboundary pollution through the Tijuana Watershed and into the Pacific Ocean.  Surfrider also contributed to a number of high profile media stories at the New York Times, CNN, and LA Times, that elevated national visibility of the transboundary pollution crisis last year.

Much energy was poured into growing the Tijuana River Coalition and the groundswell of community voices that are showing up and demanding action.  These voices were further amplified when the Tijuana River landed on the Most Endangered Rivers list for the second consecutive year.  Together, Surfrider and our community partners are well positioned to continue progress towards our long-term goals of: 1). stopping the flow of polluted water through the San Diego/Tijuana border region; 2). restoring clean water and safe, healthy communities and beaches for all to enjoy; and 3). healing impacted communities.

Read on to learn more about what we have been able to accomplish together this past year and our goals for 2026.

2025 SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• $113 million was successfully advocated for by Surfrider and our community partners to fund border water infrastructure improvement projects.  This includes $35 million for the Border Water Infrastructure Grant Program (BWIP) and $78 million for the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), which manages the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant.  An additional $67.3 million was allocated for IBWC salaries, expenses, and operations and maintenance, all of which are critical for infrastructure solutions.
• 4,333 people signed our petition calling on the President to act immediately to address the transboundary pollution crisis.
• 65 (and growing!) community-based-organizations, medical professionals, academic institutions, elected officials, and public agencies throughout San Diego County took part in the Tijuana River Coalition, which Surfrider co-leads alongside YMCA of San Diego County and Outdoor Outreach.
• 2 consecutive years that the Tijuana River has been named one of the top ten most Endangered Rivers in the United States by American Rivers - while making this list is nothing to celebrate, we are proud to team up with Un Mar de Colores and American Rivers to shine a light on the importance of the Tijuana River and the threats facing it.
• 1 revealing study from the Airborne Institute at UC San Diego showed scientific evidence that poor water quality can drastically affect air quality in frontline communities.  The findings of this study are being used by Surfrider and our coalition partners to show the urgency of the public health crisis in South San Diego communities and to advocate for swift government action to completely fund and implement the infrastructure solutions needed to stop the flows of transboundary pollution and restore community health.
• 1 new water quality lab in South San Diego County, in partnership with YMCA’s Camp Surf is increasing local testing capacity and providing learning opportunities for community volunteers and students in and around Imperial Beach.

2025 CAMPAIGN VICTORIES
Funding! We achieved 2 campaign victories last year for a total of $113 million to help pay for needed improvements to border water infrastructure. This includes:

1. Securing level funding ($78M for construction) for the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC)- the agency that managed the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, 
2. Securing level funding ($35M) for the Border Water Infrastructure Grant Program (BWIP) in a year when many federal environmental programs were slashed or decimated.

Photos: Surfrider Foundation - press conference announcing 2025 Most Endangered River designation

2025 AWARENESS BUILDING AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ADVANCES
In addition to the Most Endangered River designation and growing the Tijuana River Coalition, CBWN also . . .

• Worked with CA State Parks and drone pilot Kevin Jeffery of Veriditas Rising Aerial Photography to capture a detailed record of the Tijuana River Valley from above.  The catalogue of 400 high resolution photos and videos serves as a community resource for anyone who works in the Tijuana River Valley or towards solutions to transboundary pollution in the Tijuana River Watershed and resulting public health crisis.
• Supported state-level decision-makers for a series of events in December surrounding the Tijuana River pollution crisis, including a CA Senate Environmental Quality Joint Hearing on the Tijuana River Valley, and the CA Coastal Commission December Meeting in Imperial Beach.
• Supported county-level advancements with the leadership of the County Board of Supervisors and San Diego Air Pollution Control District, including the funding and distribution of 10,000 air purifiers to homes in the impacted area.
• Developed and led United Across Borders / Unidos entre Fronteras - an international youth change-makers summit.  Together, young leaders from Cubelles, Spain and San Diego, USA proved that advocacy knows no borders as they learned about the Tijuana River pollution crisis and gained hands-on experience in environmental advocacy, turning awareness into action.
• Grew local participation through several community events across the year that engaged hundreds people.  CBWN and Un Mar de Colores continued the “Community Conversations” series in the spring by teaming up with the South Bay Union School District to create an accessible space for community members to learn about the public health crisis and ask questions, especially in non-coastal frontline communities.  Also, we partnered with the Mengelsen - Images of Nature Gallery in La Jolla to exhibit William Bay’s photo essay Parts Per Million during the September First Friday event.

Photos: Veriditas Rising and Surfrider Foundation - Tijuana River Valley and Main River Channel from above

LOOKING AHEAD IN 2026
2026 is sure to build on the growing groundswell demanding solutions to the Tijuana River pollution crisis and catalyzing healing for impacted communities.  More and more local and state leaders are prioritizing this issue and working together to advance an immediate response and long-term solutions to this worsening public health crisis and environmental catastrophe.  This year, our Clean Border Water Now Program and coalition work will continue to focus on building more leadership opportunities for youth and growing our cross-border partnerships.

We will keep advocating for support at all levels of government to fund the remaining infrastructure solutions needed to restore a clean and safe environment for everyone who works in, lives in, and visits the affected region.  We will also look towards ongoing funding mechanisms to support operations and maintenance of newly built infrastructure for years to come.  This includes a new San Diego County ballot measure, the San Diego County Health and Safety Act, which could direct up to $80M per year to Tijuana River Valley solutions, should it pass in November.

The challenges that 2025 brought will also carry over into 2026 - harmful and discriminatory rhetoric about the border region, tense international relations, ongoing climate impacts, continued population growth, and massive state and federal funding cuts expected across the board.  We look towards collaborative work and collective action to support frontline communities bearing the brunt of this crisis, to advocate for solutions, and to nurture and cultivate the social movement that is reimagining what a healthy, safe, and flourishing transboundary region could look like.  We continue to take our inspiration from all of you, who show up again and again with renewed perseverance and resilience to stand for a clean, healthy, resilient, equitable and safe environment for all.

Photo: Veriditas Rising

Please join us in this effort. Learn more about Surfrider’s Clean Border Water Now Program here and sign up to receive updates!  We are grateful for any way that you are able to join, support, and share our work on this crisis.