19 Groups Fight Plan to Strip Vegetation From Tijuana River Canal

A coalition of 19 environmental organizations rejected a Tijuana council member’s proposal to clear vegetation from the Río Tijuana canal, warning on March 29 that removing the plants would strip away the city’s only active filter against Tijuana River pollution before it reaches the binational estuary and the Pacific Ocean.

Council member Miguel Loza Guínez submitted a formal request to CONAGUA, Mexico’s national water commission, on March 23 asking for canal cleanup work. In a video recorded inside the concrete channel, Loza argued that plant growth creates “a natural trap for water” and that pooling sewage produces “foul odors and gases that can be toxic.” Three days later, on March 26, he doubled down on social media. He also introduced a motion in the Tijuana city council calling for federal intervention along both the Río Tijuana and the Arroyo Alamar, a tributary running through the city’s eastern neighborhoods.

Tijuana River Pollution Starts With Raw Sewage, Not Plants

The Red Ambiental de Baja California, a network of activist groups, academic institutions, and scientists, published its formal response on March 29. The coalition’s statement said Loza’s initiative “lacks a comprehensive understanding” of the city’s water system. The groups include Proyecto Socioambiental Río Tijuana, Friends of International Friendship Park, Greenpeace volunteers, and the Sociedad de Científicos Anónimos chapter in Tijuana, among others.

Their core argument is simple: the vegetation in the canal performs fitodepuración, or phytoremediation, a natural process in which plant roots absorb heavy metals, bacteria, and chemical pollutants from water. The coalition’s statement noted that the canal plants “retain trash, sediments, and reduce the pollutant load that ends up in the Tijuana River Estuary in the U.S. and, ultimately, in the ocean.” The plants also serve as habitat for local and migratory wildlife.

The Tijuana River flows north across the border into the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve in Imperial Beach, California. For decades, untreated and partially treated sewage from Tijuana has poured into this watershed. Imperial Beach has recorded some of the longest consecutive beach closures in California history because of cross-border sewage flows. The International Boundary and Water Commission operates a treatment plant at the border, but the volume of contaminated water regularly exceeds its capacity. Millions of gallons of raw sewage have crossed the border during major pipe failures, including a 2017 spill and repeated breakdowns of the San Antonio de los Buenos ocean outfall south of Playas de Tijuana.

CESPT, Tijuana’s municipal water and sewer utility, operates aging infrastructure that cannot keep pace with the city’s growth. Tijuana’s population exceeds 2 million, and informal settlements along the river corridor and the Alamar creek contribute untreated waste directly into waterways. The environmental coalition pointed to these illegal discharges and unplanned urban expansion as the root causes of the river’s contamination.

A 90 Million Peso Cleanup in 2020 Solved Nothing

The coalition also challenged the economics of Loza’s approach. In 2020, authorities spent 90 million pesos (roughly $4.5 million USD at the time) on a similar canal vegetation removal project. The coalition called the results a failure, noting the work did not address the underlying sewage problem. Within months, conditions in the canal returned to their previous state.

The environmental network cited the Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua, Mexico’s federal water technology research institute, as a proponent of eco-hydrological approaches that treat rivers as living systems rather than concrete channels to be scraped clean. “Meanders are eliminated, flood zones are reduced, and the natural logic of the system is lost,” the coalition’s statement read. “There is growing evidence that this approach has been a mistake.”

As an alternative, the 19 organizations proposed a río vivo, or “living river,” model. This approach would prioritize halting raw sewage discharges, restoring natural infiltration zones where water can seep into the ground, and strengthening coordination between the city government and CESPT to expand the use of treated wastewater in public spaces. The goal is ecological restoration rather than repeated, expensive surface cleanings.

Council Member Left His Party During Abuse Investigation

Loza originally joined the Tijuana city council as a member of the Partido Acción Nacional (PAN). He left the party in 2025 after an internal investigation was opened in connection with a criminal complaint of sexual abuse filed against him. His current political standing adds a layer of context to the scrutiny his river proposal is receiving.

The coalition’s statement concluded with a direct appeal: “Understand the river not just as infrastructure, but as a living system with value for Tijuana. The vegetation is not the problem. It is the solution.”

If you live in Playas de Tijuana or cross the border regularly to Imperial Beach, the stakes are direct. Every pollutant that the canal vegetation currently filters is one less contaminant reaching the estuary and the coastline on both sides of the border. Removing that buffer without first stopping the sewage discharges would send more raw waste downstream.

Loza’s council motion still requires a vote in cabildo, Tijuana’s city council, and CONAGUA has not publicly responded to his request. The coalition has called for the proposal to be reviewed by specialists before any action is taken. This story was first reported by Punto Norte on March 31.