Water scarcity has become a growing concern in many regions around the world, including the San Diego, CA and Tijuana, MX border region Water is a valuable resource that sustains all life on earth, and the San Diego/Tijuana border region is no exception. With increasing population growth, urbanization, and changing climate patterns on both sides of the border, the demand for water resources has significantly outstripped its availability in this region. As a result, it has become essential tounderstand the extent and impacts of water scarcity, and to develop innovative and sustainable solutions that can mitigate its effects.https://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-sdclimate/1030/thumbnail.jp

Aquino, Avery

Berry, Darbi

English

University of San Diego

University of San Diego Digital USD San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative The Nonprofit Institute 2023 Understanding Binational Water Scarcity Avery Aquino Darbi Berry darbiberry@sandiego.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-sdclimate  Part of the Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons, and the Sustainability Commons Digital USD Citation Aquino, Avery and Berry, Darbi, "Understanding Binational Water Scarcity" (2023). San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative. 30. https://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-sdclimate/30 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the The Nonprofit Institute at Digital USD. It has been accepted for inclusion in San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative by an authorized administrator of Digital USD. For more information, please contact digital@sandiego.edu. UNDERSTANDINGBINATIONAL WATERSCARCITYSan Diego Regional Climate Collaborative CONNECTIVITY INTHE REGIONSan Diego and Tijuana are closely intertwined– not only do they share a physical borderand geographic connections such as theirshared coastline and the Tijuana River, butthey also have economies that areinterdependent and strong social ties thathave developed over time. The closeproximity and shared resources of these citiesmake it essential to consider both their uniqueneeds and common goals when addressingwater scarcity in the binational region. WATER SCARCITYWater scarcity is the lack of fresh water in anyone region of space. It is a relative conceptthat is constantly changing, depending onlevels of demand for water.¹ Water scarcityhas become a growing concern in manyregions around the world, including the SanDiego, CA and Tijuana, MX border region.Water is a valuable resource that sustains alllife on earth, and the San Diego/Tijuanaborder region is no exception. With increasingpopulation growth, urbanization, and changingclimate patterns on both sides of the border,the demand for water resources hassignificantly outstripped its availability in thisregion. As a result, it has become essential tounderstand the extent and impacts of waterscarcity, and to develop innovative andsustainable solutions that can mitigate itseffects. The economic connectivities between the tworegions are seen in many areas: labor, policies,etc. For example, NAFTA was signed by theUSA, Mexico, and Canada in 1993 to create afree trade zone for most of the continent. SanDiego’s location on the border makes it a primelocation for trade and for taking advantage ofNAFTA.² Adding to this economic opportunity inthe region are maquiladoras. Maquiladoras arefactories/manufacturers that are in Mexico butare run by the U.S. or other foreign countries.These twin plants allow companies to capitalizeon cheap labor in Mexico while reaping thebenefits of doing business in the U.S. The natureof this kind of business is economically beneficialfor both regions.³In addition, San Diego and Tijuana haveoverlapping cultural similarities. People andculture spill over the border and flow back andforth daily. In fact, the San Ysidro Port of Entryhad over 15 million crossings in the year 2022,making it the busiest U.S. Port of Entry. It hadover 7 million more crossings than the secondbusiest port, El Paso.⁴ A lot of people live inTijuana and commute to San Diego for work orschool. Crossing the border with this regularitycontributes to cultural diversity in both cities.Many San Diegan's visit Tijuana, Rosarito, and ElValle de Guadalupe for leisurely activities and toeat local food, further integrating the twocultures.CROSS-BORDERCOLLABORATION Overall, the connectivity between San Diego andTijuana is a vital part of the economic, physical,and cultural fabric of the region. Although thisconnectivity has created a number ofopportunities for cross-border collaboration, it hasalso presented several environmental concerns.San Diego and Tijuana share theseenvironmental concerns, particularly when itcomes to issues surrounding air pollution, waterscarcity, waste management, and climatechange. Given the physical location and coastalregion that makes up San Diego and Tijuana,both cities are very vulnerable to the impact ofclimate change, including sea level rise and morefrequent and severe droughts. In order to addressthese environmental concerns, San Diego andTijuana have engaged in several collaborativeefforts, such as air quality monitoring⁶ and waterpollution mitigation projects.⁷ By workingtogether, San Diego and Tijuana can makeprogress towards creating more resilient regionsfor all its residents. Delving further into this subject matter, one of themost pressing issues faced by both San Diegoand Tijuana is water scarcity, which isexacerbated by the increasing demand for waterdue to a growing population and climate change.The two cities rely on a very complex network ofwater sources, including the Colorado River andthe Tijuana River.     5California overall has been struggling withongoing drought conditions for several yearsnow, and in March 2022, a state of emergencywas declared over increased drought conditions.The San Diego County Water Authority has beendriving towards decreasing San Diego’s relianceon water from the Metropolitan Water District,which consists of part of Los Angeles, Orange,San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, andVentura Counties, but the region still remainsheavily reliant on the Colorado River. This is anissue because these sources are hundreds ofmiles away. As a result, San Diego is continuingto work towards creative solutions to diversity thewater supply through several initiatives andprojects.   These projects all play into previouslymentioned connections between San Diego andTijuana, given their close proximity to oneanother and that they rely on several of the samewater sources.San Diego and Baja California Norte share theSouthern California Bight, which is an area withmany environmental concerns. The SouthernCalifornia Bight is a 692-kilometer stretch ofcurved coastline that runs from Point Conceptionin California all the way to Punta Colonet in BajaCalifornia. The region is known for having aclimate similar to the Mediterranean, consistingof rainy winters and dry summers. This regionhas a thriving ecosystem that is home to manyspecies of plants, fish, birds, and mammals.Along with the thriving ecosystem, there aremany concerns for water and land pollution alongthe Southern California Bight. Coastal waterpollutants enter the Bight via runoff, thedischarge of treated wastewater, and shippingaccidents such as oil spills. Most water pollutionin the Bight originates from the land. GEOGRAPHICCONNECTIONSAND CHALLENGES 8A vital factor in this discussion of water scarcityissues in this region is the Tijuana RiverWatershed. The Tijuana River Watershed is avery large and binational drainage basin that liesalong and across the California/Mexico border.Similarly, “the Tijuana River Estuary is thelargest coastal wetland in Southern Californiaand is primarily a shallow water habitat. TheTijuana River Estuary is one of the few saltmarshes in Southern California, where over 90%of wetland habitat has been lost todevelopment.”   The estuary also contains milesof walking trails that lead to the Pacific Ocean.The Tijuana River Watershed discharges intothe Tijuana River Estuary in the U.S. and manysuspended solids have been measured in thosewaters which can cause health problems.Because of this and overpopulation issues onthe Tijuana side of the watershed, usage ofgroundwater in the watershed has increasinglybeen considered. However, there are healthconcerns here as well, due to the sewage runoffand pesticides that contaminate groundwaters.  In addition, Illegal dumping of toxins by factoriesand various businesses in Mexico is difficult toregulate, which further worsens the condition ofthe water. There has been recent progress inthis area, where the United StatesEnvironmental Protection Agency has beenworking on building infrastructure that wouldprevent transboundary flows from Tijuana thatcontain untreated wastewater and sedimentsinto the U.S. These transboundary flows havebeen directly connected to beach closures inSan Diego and issues concerning environmentalhealth.⁷ 910IMPACTS ON THECOMMUNITY The effects of climate change are being felteverywhere, and San Diego and Tijuana are notexempt from this. Communities are beingimpacted by this water scarcity on both sides ofthe border. For example, schools in Tijuana arehaving to shut off their water and thereforecancel school days.    Canceling school days willcause students to fall behind on their tasks, willdisrupt their daily routines, and could haveemotional damage on students. Speaking moregenerally, water shut-offs affect a wide range ofcommunities and can cause increased financialburdens, impact on agriculture and livelihoods,environmental degradation, and social tensions.All of these effects show the dire situation thatcommunities are finding themselves in with littleto no solution at their disposal. Although there isno simple solution to this issue, steps are beingtaken to mitigate these effects. 11Figure 1: Image of the Tijuana River Watershed 15INTERSECTIONALCLIMATECONSIDERATIONSCoastal resilience is the ability of a community torecover after extreme natural disasters, such asdroughts and prolonged water scarcity, ratherthan just reacting to its effects. This is a verylarge issue all over the world, and especially inthis region. In this context, coastal resiliencesolutions will be focusing on the reuse ofsediment. Sediment is a matter or material thatis broken down because of weathering anderosion and is moved by wind, water, ice, etc.Dredging is the process by which sediment anddebris is removed from the bottom of bodies ofwater. In Southern California, dredge material isusually shipped to offshore material disposalsites and its potential for usage is completelylost. Sediment is a highly useful material thatcan be used for projects such as wetland andbeach restoration, construction, etc. It also canallow for wetlands to keep up with sea level rise.SDSU Professor and researcher, Trent Biggs,states that the Tijuana River Estuary "hasexperienced high rates of sedimentation beingdelivered from the urbanized watersheds thatdrain into the estuary which has resulted incross-border initiatives to identify and manageareas producing sediment."   12Technical difficultiesPsychosocial barriersFinancial constraintsInter-organizational collaboration challengesIn most places, this practice is more of anaspiration than an actual practice. In the TijuanaRiver Valley, there are already projects that havebeen completed or are underway that arereevaluating the disposal of sediment, such as in-channel capture basins that are seen in theTijuana River Valley Needs and OpportunitiesAssessment.    There are many barriers to thiseffort to reuse sediment. Some include:1.2.3.4.Solutions for these barriers include support forstudies, modeling, pilot projects, education of thepublic about the benefits of sediment placement,relaxing the requirement for governments to usethe lowest-cost option, more funding, providingfacilitation and incentives for inter-organizationalcoordination and innovation, etc.  1314Sources1. UN-Water. Water Scarcity. https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/water-scarcity 2. The City of San Diego. Partnering with Mexico. https://www.sandiego.gov/economic-development/sandiego/trade/mexico 3. The City of San Diego. Economic Development. https://www.sandiego.gov/economic-development/sandiego/trade/mexico/maquiladoras#Benefits 4. Department of Transportation. Border Crossing Data.https://explore.dot.gov/views/BorderCrossingData/CrossingRank?%3Aembed=y&%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y 5. Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Economic Integration and cross-border economicorganizations: the case of San Diego-Tijuana. https://www.redalyc.org/journal/530/53051786002/html/ 6. California Air Resources Board. California, City of Tijuana collaborate in battle to improve border airquality. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/california-city-tijuana-collaborate-battle-improve-border-air-quality 7. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Study Released for Projects to MitigateSan Diego-Tijuana Transborder Water Pollution. November 18th, 2022.https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/environmental-study-released-projects-mitigate-san-diego-tijuana-transborder-water 8. The Nonprofit Institute. Quality of Life Dashboard: Water Use. https://www.sandiego.edu/soles/centers-and-institutes/nonprofit-institute/what-we-do/create-and-share-knowledge/dashboard/water-use.php 9. California Department of Parks and Recreation: Tijuana Estuary. https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=669 10. Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias San Diego State University. May 6, 2013.https://trw.sdsu.edu/English/Characteristics/Physical/physical.html 11. Khennia Reyes. Suspenden clases en varias escuelas por cortes de la Cespt, 2022.https://www.elimparcial.com/tijuana/tijuana/Suspenden-clases-por-falta-de-agua-20220608-0031.html 12. Trent Wade Biggs. Land cover following rapid urbanization on the US-Mexico border: Implications forconceptual models of urban watershed processes. 4 August 2009.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204610000368 13. Tijuana River Valley Needs and Opportunities Assessment. March 2020.https://www.sdparks.org/content/dam/sdparks/en/pdf/Resource-Management/NOA%20Final%20Report.pdf 14. Barriers and Opportunities for beneficial reuse of sediment to support coastal resilience. 30 July 2020.https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0964569120301976?token=9655B12D5FD00EB2D0CA6D82C203B9790BE3D151EE71BA051C6ABE4E1C63917D39943C9524B9BB8EEC912C2396EB8D20&originRegion=us-east-1&originCreation=20230213002756 15. California Water Boards San Diego R-9. February 13, 2020.https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/sandiego/water_issues/programs/tijuana_river_valley_strategy/sewage_issue.html    The San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative was established in 2011 as anetwork for public agencies to advance climate change solutions and is currentlyhoused at The Nonprofit Institute at the University of San Diego. 

Understanding Binational Water Scarcity

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Understanding Binational Water Scarcity

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