More than 530 volunteers joined Los Cabos municipal workers on World Environment Day to clear roughly 250 metric tons of garbage from the Arroyo Salto Seco in Cabo San Lucas. The cleanup covered 9.5 kilometers of the waterway, targeting illegal dump sites packed with household waste, tires, and construction rubble.
The operation deployed 45 dump trucks and 10 front-end loaders to haul debris from the arroyo channel. Staff from the Mexican Navy, the Cabo San Lucas fire department, and private companies including Open Water and Hersan worked alongside the volunteers.
Why the Arroyo Cleanup Matters Before Hurricane Season
Clogged arroyos are a leading cause of street and neighborhood flooding when hurricane season rains hit the southern Baja peninsula. The wet season typically begins in June and runs through November, with peak storm activity in September. In September 2024, intense rains sent more than 140,000 pounds of trash from waterways onto Cabo San Lucas beaches, requiring massive post-storm cleanup efforts.
Removing 250 tons of debris before the rains arrive reduces flood risk for downstream neighborhoods and roadways that cross the arroyo. For residents of colonias near the Salto Seco channel, blocked drainage can turn a moderate rainstorm into a serious property threat.
Officials Call for End to Illegal Dumping
Municipal delegate Karina de la O Uribe called on residents to stop dumping trash in natural waterways. She also asked drivers to use rural access roads near the arroyo responsibly, noting that vehicles contribute to erosion and debris spread along the channel banks.
The illegal dumping problem in Los Cabos is well documented. Earlier this year, cleanup campaigns along roads connecting Todos Santos and Pescadero collected more than 51 tons of waste. Spring breakers alone were projected to generate 100 tons of garbage in the municipality this year, on top of the waste produced by a fast-growing local population.
The Arroyo Salto Seco cleanup is one of the largest single-day waste removal operations in recent Los Cabos history. By comparison, a 2022 ocean trash fishing event organized by Colectivo Cabos collected 2.3 tons from local waters. The scale of the arroyo effort, at more than 100 times that amount, points to the severity of illegal dumping along inland waterways.
This story was first reported by the Los Cabos municipal government at loscabos.gob.mx.