SAN DIEGO — A San Diego State University graduate student’s research thesis may change the world.
For the first time, an ROV or Remotely Operated Vehicle is testing the water clarity at the Tijuana River outlet in Imperial Beach.
“There is a human impact, and I wanted to see how sewage affected aquatic life,” said Stephany Garcia, who partnered with the San Diego Argonauts Scale Division to make it happen.
It took two months to engineer, design, and test the ROV before it reached the water.
Garcia said the ROV would continually sample and analyze the water’s turbidity, the measurement of water clarity on an ongoing basis in different water and tidal conditions in the upcoming months.
Rob Wood, Project Coordinator and Vice Commodore of the San Diego Argonauts said, “I think we all share the desire to make the world a better place and keep pristine areas pristine. When we find pollution, we want to do our part.”
He said turbid water has high concentrations of organic and inorganic materials that can carry harmful bacteria and pathogens.
“The Tijuana sewage treatment plant; only half of it is working, so the other half is just putting polluted water into the ocean, and on top of that, a big pipeline broke before the storms hit, and that’s pumping out a huge amount of sewage in the water, and rains took the pollution to the estuary,” said Wood. “We are trying to find a way to gather data and negotiate a solution with Mexico.”
Garcia said it would take several months to compile all the data and complete her thesis.
You can find the results later this summer on the SDSU website.
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