From Pollution to Tourist Hub?

Tires and trash in the Tijuana River Valley on December 20, 2022. Photo by Ariana Drehsler | Voice of San Diego

The county of San Diego owns most of the 1,800-acre Tijuana River Valley Regional Park. Much of it is contaminated by its sewage-laden namesake river. Trash like shoes, plastic bottles, car tires, even whole kitchen appliances, flow over the border in its waters and ensnare among overgrown trees, shrubs and scrub that hide the river’s banks. There’s a lot of clean up work to be done there.

Vargas’ Gateway project includes the county applying for $20 million from President Joe Biden’s $2 billion Inflation Reduction Act or IRA. The county’s board, with Vargas’ influence, also committed $500,000 in county money for a contract with San Diego Tijuana World Design Capital for a sports and recreation complex near the Otay Mesa and Nestor communities. The project is supposed to make the area a tourist attraction replete with “artful arches” representing the meeting of California and Baja California at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a board letter. 

Lawson-Remer voted against that contract because it was with a single source, meaning it wasn’t a competitive bidding process which is what most governments do.

Mayor Aguirre spoke against the project at the board’s June 5 meeting. The Imperial Beach Democratic Club spokesperson told Hinch the project “is a great idea, but there are a lot more pressing needs.”

Vargas told me the bulk of that $20 million from the IRA would be spent on removing trash and sediment from the river park area and help restore native plants. Another $6 million would help build a new community space at the YMCA Camp S.U.R.F. located in Imperial Beach and hub for staging emergency services during a flood or fire. 

It’s still unclear whether the feds will agree to Superfund status for the Tijuana River. Everyone I’ve talked to with expertise on the matter say it’s a longshot. Maybe the Gateways project would secure a large chunk of federal money to do some serious clean-up. But whether it’s enough, and whether it’s worth trying to transform contaminated land into a park remains to be seen. 

By MacKenzie Elmer | November 18, 2024 | Voice of San Diego

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