At the western point of the US-Mexico border, one million acres of binational watershed converge in the city of Tijuana. Polluted stormwater and sewage runoff enter channelized waterways and flow across the border and into the Pacific Ocean. Biodiversity and human welfare are endangered by harsh chemicals and pollutants that enter the natural and human environments of the watershed. Bacteria, plastics, and car tires engulf drains and gullies to create deadly floods and contaminated landscapes. In the Tijuana River Channel, homeless deportees create structures of river debris and are exposed to the river’s contaminants. Following political shifts, the deportee population of the city continues to rise; and with increasing urbanization and growth in Tijuana, the effects of polluted runoff are amplified. These environmental and cultural disasters culminate at the base of Tijuana, in a four-mile-long concrete channel.

Through the implementation of green infrastructure and stormwater management practices, the Tijuana River will transform from a toxic channel into an ecological waterway and public corridor.