SAN DIEGO ( Border Report ) — Several local, state and federal agencies cut the ribbon on a 450-foot-long trash boom in the Tijuana River Valley on Tuesday morning.
The boom is made up of 150 individual sections that are tied together and anchored by 20 tons of concrete on both sides.
It was installed on the riverbed just inside U.S. territory.
As the water levels rise, so will the boom.
It is designed to stop tons of trash, plastics, tires and other debris that normally flow from Tijuana north across the border along the Tijuana River Valley and out to the Pacific Ocean.
The project has been in the planning stages for 20 years.
20 years in the making, giant trash boom installed to keep Tijuana trash out of U.S.
“We’ve been studying this for years now and at last we can see it, use it and see how effective it is in controlling trash,” said David Gibson, executive officer with the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board.