Young people, among the most vulnerable, are not waiting to grow up to demand a faster end to Tijuana’s sewage crisis
Melina Jimenez Esparza can’t help but wonder if the binational sewage crisis is behind the respiratory problems her father in Tijuana and his classmates in Imperial Beach, where she attends high school, are experiencing.
The problem comes back to her every time she crosses the border from Mexico to the United States, along the polluted Tijuana River watershed. The 16-year-old began searching for answers after Katrine Czajkowski, a teacher at Mar Vista High School, encouraged her to join a group of students and scientists studying the health effects of toxic pollution.
“I think that was one of the main reasons I joined the team,” Jimenez Esparza said. “I wanted to see how these particles (in the air) could affect my father’s health.”
She is one of many teenagers whose work is helping researchers better understand the impact of the public health crisis on communities. They also hope to increase awareness.
The sewage problem boils down to years of disrepair and underinvestment in sewage treatment plants on both sides of the border, amid Tijuana’s rapid population growth, leading to billions of gallons of partially treated sewage and toxic chemicals contaminating the coast of southern San Diego and the Tijuana River Valley.
Major repairs are underway, but teens across San Diego County said the slow response has hurt communities, and low-income youth are particularly at risk. Many have spent time, often outside of school hours, learning about the long-term effects of a crisis they know they will face in the future.
“We’re going to take what the previous generation left us,” said David Lai, a 16-year-old Del Mar resident who is working on a documentary on the subject. “So we want to leave our generation with good nature, good economy, and just a good standard of living.”
This is what many teenagers do.
Young Climate Advisors
Jimenez Esparza is one of several teens who make up the Youth Climate Advisors, a group of mostly Mar Vista High School students who have spent the past six months working with researchers from UC San Diego’s Airborne Institute and the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health.
Many became interested in researching what’s in the air they breathe after a preliminary study by one of their mentors at UCSD discovered sewage-related bacteria in sea spray aerosols at Imperial Beach.
Since January, the teens have collected nearly 100 unique air readings and taken more than 50 photographs at school, in public spaces and in nature, documenting where and how pollution has impacted their community.
Joshua Nungaray, for example, compared fine particle concentrations during indoor volleyball practices and outdoor track and field practices in Mar Vista, less than a mile from the beach. He found higher concentrations of airborne particles. In the summer, it is recommended to stay outside because “particles from the beach easily reach the school, but cannot fully penetrate the facilities.” Particles are a mixture of solids and small liquid droplets suspended in the air. Breathing harmful levels of particles can increase the risk of short- and long-term health complications, such as eye irritation, coughing, asthma or heart disease.
“The particles in the air definitely affect me, I run long distances so I have to run outside and sometimes the smell is so bad I decide to take a different route, further away from the beach,” one student-athlete told him.
Rebecca Fielding-Miller, a UCSD public health social scientist who works with the youth counselors, said teen involvement was one of the most important factors in the overall research.
“It was really important to us to make sure that kids were not only learning how to collect data and learn about air quality issues, but that we were really listening to what was important to them,” she said. “If we’re not actually talking and, more importantly, listening to the people who are experiencing the most severe impacts, I don’t think our science is doing all it could.”
The scientists said they were incorporating some of the questions raised by the students into their broader research, such as exploring how air quality differs by postcode, the impacts on mental health and whether specific classroom activities, such as working in a chemistry lab with limited ventilation, pose a serious health risk to students and staff.
Navya Arora, a youth advisor in San Marcos, saw that the sewage crisis and its effects on air quality were beyond the capacity of residents and local agencies to manage.
“I feel like if more people from other communities care about this (air quality) issue, we can solve it together,” she said.
Some teens across the country feel the same way.
San Diego Non Toxic
Lai, Kevin Chapman, 16, and Vivian Zhang, 15, of North County, are members of Non-Toxic San Diego, a club of students from various high schools who advocate for solutions to environmental problems throughout the region. They believe the transboundary sewage crisis deserves more attention.
So they started producing a documentary on the topic, meeting with local government officials and educating other young people on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
The teens met Monday night with Tom Csanadi and Marvel Harrison, who own oceanfront homes in Imperial Beach. The couple has launched a social media campaign called “IBEmpowered,” which gives residents a platform to share how sewage pollution affects them.
The smell of sewage was particularly overwhelming early that morning, Csanadi and Harrison told the young people from their patio, as they watched the crashing waves, blocked by signs warning visitors of toxic waste in the water.
Chapman said more people need to see what Imperial Beach and the surrounding area are experiencing, adding that when it comes to underserved neighborhoods, government response seems slow.
“If this had happened in wealthier communities like Rancho Santa Fe or La Jolla, the problem certainly would have been solved immediately,” he said.
Pollution spread north to Coronado, sometimes closing its shores, and hydrogen sulfide levels above state thresholds were recorded as far east as San Ysidro.
As the band discussed their efforts with Csanadi and Harrison, Harrison invoked a South African saying, “ubuntu” – which roughly translates to “what happens to you happens to me.”
“I feel very strongly about it because a lot of my friends from school live in this area,” Lai said. “This is San Diego. Even though we live in Del Mar, they’re still part of the San Diego County area. So, in a way, they’re still part of the family.”
Elsewhere in South County, teens and young adults from the Clean Coast Collaborative held a July 20 beach cleanup in Imperial Beach and an art exhibit showcasing their experiences living with sewage pollution. And Coronado High School students led a rally earlier this year calling for more federal funding to fix failing treatment infrastructure.
School districts call for help
School districts that serve children in neighborhoods close to pollution are also sounding the alarm.
“We believe that pollution is impacting our attendance and that enrollment is declining at a higher rate than some of the surrounding school districts,” said South Bay Superintendent Jose Espinoza. “But unfortunately for school districts, we don’t have the resources to track that data, or even collect that type of data to support our beliefs.”
The Sweetwater Union High, South Bay Union and Chula Vista Elementary districts passed proclamations earlier this year declaring the crisis an emergency and urging the state and federal governments to do the same. Thousands of students have also written letters urging Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden to find quick solutions.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
