Trash Boom on Tijuana River Channel

operational

A trash boom consisting of 160 buoyant modules tied together and anchored by 120 tons of concrete is installed just inside the U.S. on the Tijuana River channel to prevent trash from Mexico from entering the U.S. and the Pacific Ocean. It rises with the water level to block trash during rainstorms. The boom has been deployed for two rainy seasons and is expected to stop about 50 tons of trash during the current storms. It costs about $4.7 million annually to maintain and operate. The project manager suggests installing a similar boom on the Mexico side of the border for better efficiency and lower cost.