Binational Water Quality Study of the Tijuana River and Adjacent Canyons and Drains

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Binational Water Quality Study of the Tijuana River and Adjacent Canyons and Drains BINATIONAL WATER QUALITY STUDY OF THE TIJUANA RIVER AND ADJACENT CANYONS AND DRAINS December 2018 to November 2019 Prepared by: INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY AND WATER COMMISSION UNITED STATES AND MEXICO Final Report August 2020 LEGAL FRAMEWORK This Study and its Final Report were conducted by Mexico and the United States under the framework of Minute 320 of the International Boundary and Water Commission, entitled "General Framework for Binational Cooperation on Transboundary Issues in the Tijuana River Basin," dated October 5, 2015. LIST OF PARTICIPANTS: For the U.S. Section, International Boundary and Water Commission: 1. Jose Nunez, Principal Engineer, Engineering Department 2. Gilbert Anaya, Division Chief, Environmental Management Division 3. Wayne Belzer, Project Lead, Environmental Engineer 4. Scott Melvin, Sampling Coordinator, San Diego Field Office For the Mexican Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission 1. Luis Antonio Rascón Mendoza, Principal Engineer, Engineering Department. 2. Manuel Alejandro Morales Galván, Project Coordinator, Assistant Director of Sanitation and Water Quality 3. Blanca Selenis Cabello Ribota, Assistant Project Coordinator, Chief of the Office of Water Quality. 4. Juan Javier Colín Celaya, sampling coordinator, Chief of Border Sanitation, Tijuana Field Office. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To the Commissioners Jayne Harkins and Roberto Salmon, for their vision and valuable support for the execution of this binational joint project. To the personnel under contract, "ABC Química Investigación y Análisis" in Mexico and "IDEALS- AGEISS, LLC.” in the United States, for their participation in the collection of samples in the field and in the analysis of the parameters considered in this Study. ii ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS CE-CCA: Mexico’s Ecological Water Quality Criteria IBWC: International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico BOD: Biochemical Oxygen Demand DEHP: Bis (2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate COD: Chemical Oxygen Demand kg: Kilogram L: Liters MAL: Maximum Allowable Levels [Mexico] lps: Liters per second m: Meters mg: Milligrams MGD: Million Gallons per Day ml: Milliliters mm: Millimeters MPN: Most Probable Number PB-CILA: IBWC Wastewater Pump Station pH: Hydrogen Potential SBIWTP: South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant WWTP: Wastewater Treatment Plant ppb: parts per billion ppm: parts per million PVC: Polyvinyl Chloride SDRWQCB: San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board TSS: Total Suspended Solids CFU: Colony Forming Units CaWRCB: California State Water Resources Control Board iii TABLE OF CONTENTS INDEX OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................ 6 INDEX OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................. 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ 7 1.0 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 11 2.0 MONITORING STATIONS .............................................................................................................. 12 2.1 CANYON AND DRAINS STATIONS ................................................................................................................................. 15 2.2 TIJUANA RIVER SITES ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 3.0 SAMPLING EVENTS ........................................................................................................................ 25 3.1. DECEMBER 2018 ........................................................................................................................................................ 25 3.2. JANUARY 2019 ............................................................................................................................................................ 26 3.3. FEBRUARY 2019 ......................................................................................................................................................... 26 3.4. MARCH 2019 ................................................................................................................................................................ 26 3.5. APRIL 2019 ................................................................................................................................................................... 27 3.6. MAY 2019 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 27 3.7. JUNE 2019 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 3.8. JULY 2019 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 27 3.9. AUGUST – NOVEMBER 2019 ................................................................................................................................... 28 4.0 ANALYTICAL RESULTS ................................................................................................................ 29 4.1 CALIFORNIA OCEAN PLAN.................................................................................................................................... 29 4.2 WATER QUALITY CONTROL PLAN FOR THE SAN DIEGO BASIN .............................................................. 30 4.3 ECOLOGICAL WATER QUALITY CRITERIA (CE-CCA 001/89) ...................................................................... 32 4.4 OFFICIAL MEXICAN STANDARD NOM-001-SEMARNAT-1996. ..................................................................... 34 4.5 WASTEWATER CHARACTERISTIC OF TIJUANA ............................................................................................. 35 4.6 RESULTS FROM CANYON-DRAIN STATIONS ................................................................................................... 38 4.7 SUMMARY OF CANYON AND DRAIN STATIONS ASSESSMENT ................................................................... 47 4.8 RESULTS FROM THE TIJUANA RIVER MONITORING STATIONS .............................................................. 48 4.9 SUMMARY OF TIJUANA RIVER STATIONS ASSESSMENT ............................................................................ 56 4 5.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................ 57 REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................................... 58 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................................... 59 Appendix A. Parameters analyzed in water and sediment ........................................................................................................ 60 Appendix B. List of Parameters Tested Not Detected ............................................................................................................... 65 Appendix C. Laboratory Results for the Detected Parameters ................................................................................................ 68 5 INDEX OF FIGURES Page Figure 1. Sampling locations (Western sites) 13 Figure 2. Sampling locations (Eastern sites) 14 Figure 3. Stewart's Drain 15 Figure 4. Stewart's Drain Location 16 Figure 5. Silva Drain 16 Figure 6. Canyon del Sol and Silva Drain Location 17 Figure 7. Canyon del Sol with no flow and with only ponded water 17 Figure 8. Smuggler’s Gulch – Site 1 18 Figure 9. Smuggler’s Gulch – Site 2 18 Figure 10. Smuggler’s Gulch Location 18 Figure 11. Goat Canyon Collector 19 Figure 12. Goat Canyon Location 19 Figure 13. Yogurt Canyon at Stormwater Drain 20 Figure 14. Yogurt Canyon Location 20 Figure 15. Alamar River 21 Figure 16. Tijuana River upstream above confluence with Alamar River 21 Figure 17. Tijuana River at PB-CILA diversion structure 22 Figure 18. Map of the sampling points in the Tijuana and Alamar Rivers in Mexico 22 Figure 19. Tijuana River at Dairy Mart Bridge 23 Figure 20. Tijuana River at Hollister Street site under bridge 23 Figure 21. Mouth of the Tijuana River at the Pacific Ocean 24 Figure 22. Map of the sampling points in the Tijuana River in the U.S. 24 Figure 23. Photographs of sampling from each month of the Study 28 Figure 24. Graph of the detected levels of Ammonia (as Nitrogen) in the Canyons and Drains 39 Figure 25. Graph of the detected levels of BOD in the Canyons and Drains 40 Figure 26. Graph of the detected levels of Total Phosphorous in the Canyons and Drains 41 Figure 27. Spatial graph of ammonia in the Tijuana River 50 Figure 28. Spatial graph of BOD in the Tijuana River 51 Figure 29. Spatial graph of Total Phosphorous in the Tijuana River 52 Figure 30. Comparative graph of the results of this study for Total Coliforms in the Tijuana River compared to those obtained through the Minute 270 monitoring of coastal waters 53 INDEX OF TABLES Page Table 1. Binational Sampling Schedule 25 Table 2. CE-CCA Maximum Levels for Recreational Use with Primary Contact 32 Table
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