Polluted Surf { 20 images } Created 5 Nov 2013
A haven for surfers in San Diego County is threatened by the “ecological catastrophe in the making” that is Tijuana’s Los Laureles Canyon.
Trash and sewage carried by the Tijuana River watershed winds across the border and through the Tijuana Estuary. It can foul the waters of Imperial Beach in San Diego County, closing popular shorelines and causing health problems for swimmers and surfers. The problem is one of basic infrastructure in Tijuana's Los Laureles Canyon, which has seen rapid informal development in recent decades, and organizations from both sides of the border are working to stop the flow of pollution.
Trash and sewage carried by the Tijuana River watershed winds across the border and through the Tijuana Estuary. It can foul the waters of Imperial Beach in San Diego County, closing popular shorelines and causing health problems for swimmers and surfers. The problem is one of basic infrastructure in Tijuana's Los Laureles Canyon, which has seen rapid informal development in recent decades, and organizations from both sides of the border are working to stop the flow of pollution.
![Mark West waits for a wave during an early morning surf session near his home in Imperial Beach. "I surf 300 days a year in IB, but when [a spill] happens it's so dramatic and so bad that it really can make you ill," said West, a volunteer with the Surfrider Foundation who sits on a citizens' forum organized by the International Boundary and Water Commission. Public perception can keep beach-goers away from Imperial Beach for weeks after the water is no longer contaminated by a spill.](https://www.willparson.com/img-get2/I0000n0Eix8.nimg/fit=188x188/fill=/g=G0000gXsYoeDvxDQ/I0000n0Eix8.nimg.jpg)
