Mission

Fly with grassroots groups, city officials, and the press working to ignite elected leaders to address the Tijuana River crisis.

The Tijuana River Watershed, the ancestral land of the Kumeyaay People, is an essential resource for millions on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Spanning 120 miles through northwest Baja California and into the Tijuana Estuary in southern California, the river supports a rich array of ecosystems, over 370 bird species, and numerous endangered species like the San Diego fairy shrimp, the light-footed clapper rail, and the salt marsh bird’s beak.

For over a century, the Tijuana River Valley has absorbed toxic waste and untreated sewage, damaging waterways and endangering both human and wildlife populations. Daily cross-border flows, worsened by under-resourced infrastructure and seasonal rains, carry untreated wastewater, industrial contaminants, and urban debris downstream, polluting coastal waters and putting communities on both sides of the border at risk. The EPA-endorsed Comprehensive Infrastructure Solution (CIS), developed with input from affected communities, presents a path forward, yet the project remains underfunded. The International Wastewater Treatment Plant (ITP), a key component, requires substantial investment.

Immediate action is needed to address the decades of inadequate wastewater infrastructure that have led to serious violations of the Clean Water Act, widespread ecosystem damage, and illness. Our elected leaders must make border water infrastructure a priority, fully fund the CIS, and explore further strategies for lasting solutions. Without decisive action, border communities will continue to suffer, ecosystems will degrade, and crucial industries will struggle.

EcoFlight is committed to providing the aerial perspective on these large-scale, transboundary challenges, and using our aerial platform to advocate for the protection of the Tijuana River.

Click for photos from the flights, geo-referenced photos, and aerial footage.