The Tijuana River sewage crisis is a multi-faceted problem, with environmental, public health and political challenges to overcome.
It can all feel overwhelming, not only for the people experiencing the crisis, but also for those wanting to help.
Enter Sarah Federman’s Peace Studies students. She teaches conflict resolution at the University of San Diego’s Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and this spring semester, she taught her class on the ongoing cross-border sewage crisis.
“We're a school of peace studies, so you might think, well, it's not a war, right?" she said. "But we study conflict resolution and how to get different groups to work together across differences to solve a problem.”
Before they could get people working together, the students had to identify a need. They started with a visit to the Tijuana River Valley, where they saw firsthand how the seasonal river, located near homes, schools and recreational areas, flows year-round with a mix of untreated wastewater, trash and toxic chemicals.
They also spoke with scientists tracking those chemical contaminants.
They reviewed studies and data identifying chemical compounds found in the river, including methamphetamine, octinoxate, a UV filter used in sunscreen, and Dibenzylamine, a compound used in tire manufacturing.
That’s when the students said they identified a need.
“We found a lot of fragmented data,” said Elise Free, a USD student who supported Federman’s class. “We found a lot of very dense scientific reports. And so, our next goal was to create a document that made all of that legible.”
They wanted to create a chemical index that the public could use to better understand where the chemicals were coming from and what dangers they pose to their health. Such a resource could also help lawmakers and the businesses releasing the pollutants, they thought.
“Understanding what's in the water and what's in the sediment is one of the first steps we can take to figuring out what actually needs to be done to treat the water and to prevent it from getting worse,” Free said.
Meanwhile, Maria Ortiz, who took Federman’s course, began reaching out to elected officials, government agencies and nonprofit organizations, informing them about the index they were developing and offering it as a resource for their efforts to address the cross-border problem.
For Ortiz, grabbing decision makers’ attention was important. The sewage crisis has impacted her family for years. As South County residents, Imperial Beach is the family’s closest shoreline.
“Learning about the actual chemicals and where they’re coming from, it makes me sad because I have an elderly mother,” Ortiz said. “She enjoyed walking on the beach and we can’t do that with her anymore.”
The students said they plan to collaborate with business students at USD and share their index with businesses releasing chemicals into the Tijuana River to help prevent further pollution.
“We found that actually, Peace and Justice students are like an amazing bridge between the data and the legislators, the data and the public, the data and the businesses,” Federman said.
