Cover photo: Surfrider Foundation
A Reason to Celebrate
A new water quality lab recently opened in South San Diego County that will increase local testing capacity, learning opportunities, and transboundary pollution advocacy. The lab is a collaborative effort between the San Diego Chapter’s Blue Water Task Force and Clean Border Water Now programs and the YMCA’s Camp Surf. Located in Imperial Beach, the new lab will allow our Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) program to cover more South San Diego sites and to test them more frequently. It also provides new volunteer opportunities in and near the communities most affected by the transboundary pollution in the Tijuana River Watershed. Both partner organizations are especially excited about the educational and hands-on opportunities the new lab will provide for local high school students and youth that attend Camp Surf - where water is typically too polluted to enter at the beach on-site.
Blue Water Task Force is a national volunteer water quality monitoring program that provides essential information to protect public health at our local beaches. Through this program, we shine a light on pollution issues impacting San Diego County's coastal waters and unite our community to find and implement solutions.
When the new lab launched on September 10th, the first order of business was a training for Camp Surf staff on operating the lab and using it for educational purposes. This took place on September 11th and was led by San Diego Chapter BWTF Program Lead, Rachel Weinstein. Participants learned the proper techniques and steps to take and process samples.
Photos: Surfrider Foundation
A Growing Collaboration
The Surfrider Foundation’s Clean Border Water Now program and YMCA of San Diego County have forged a strong partnership over the past few years while working collaboratively to address severe pollution in the Tijuana River and coastline. Together we co-lead the Tijuana River Coalition, alongside two other local partners - Outdoor Outreach and Un Mar de Colores. The coalition convenes over 50 community-based organizations, elected officials, academic and public health institutions, and government agencies to raise awareness about the public health crisis in the Tijuana River Watershed and to drive actionable solutions that protect our communities and ensure equitable access to clean water, clean air, and safe outdoor spaces for all.
The Need for a New Lab
The opening of a new Blue Water Task Force lab in South San Diego County had been a long-time coming. This area was left without a lab following the 2019 shutdown of the lab at Mar Vista High School in Imperial Beach during the pandemic. The six-year gap made water quality testing in the area challenging, leading to less frequent testing in critical areas affected by transboundary pollution. Gathering water quality data in these areas helps to inform and support our Tijuana River Watershed advocacy and community engagement efforts.
After the height of COVID-19, water quality testing in Imperial Beach resumed in 2023, but the closest lab for processing the time-sensitive samples was in Hillcrest, a good 20-40 minute drive, depending on traffic. In early July 2024, Bree Steffen with Spectrum News followed two of San Diego’s Blue Water Task Force volunteers to sample and process the waters of IB. Acxel Herrera-Ibarra is one of the volunteers who takes samples from IB, and Rachel Weinstein is the program's volunteer lead. The full story can be found here.
Photo: Lisa Kaczmarczyk
We are grateful for our strong partnership with YMCA’s Camp Surf and excited by the many possibilities this new lab holds for advancing science education, community engagement, data gathering, and advocacy efforts.
View our sampling sites in San Diego and water quality test results and follow these links to learn more about Surfrider’s Clean Border Water Now program and YMCA’s Camp Surf.