San Diego Coastkeeper

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Protecting and restoring San Diego's rivers, streams, and coastline for the communities and wildlife that depend on clean water.

In 1982, Hudson River fisherman became concerned about the modern poacher: pollution. They started the first Waterkeeper organization in the United States, and proved so effective at protecting water resources that Waterkeeper organizations trickled throughout the country. Once established, we became the 15th Waterkeeper organization in the country and focused our efforts on local, community-based advocacy. Today, San Diego Coastkeeper continues our role as the region’s clean water watchdog as we help to identify solutions to a new myriad of problems such as water supply challenges and urban runoff. We use community outreach, education and advocacy to empower San Diegans to guard their clean water and healthy ecosystem, relying on you to help us find and fix pollution hazards. Our team of scientists, activists, educators and lawyers work with our community and decision-makers to protect and restore fishable, swimmable and drinkable water in San Diego County.

10/26/2026

Muchisimas gracias a Glen Canyon Institute por traer What the River Knows (Lo que el río conoce) a Tijuana. Igual, a las organizaciones de la region Cali-Baja que lo hicieron posible. 💙

La película nos lleva a Glen Canyon, un cañón del río Colorado que renace mientras retroceden las aguas del Lago Powell: un Edén perdido que revela los errores del pasado y la posibilidad de un nuevo camino.

Ese mismo río da vida a Tijuana y a varias ciudades del norte de Baja California. Es agua ancestral, y quizás la fuente de vida más importante de nuestra ciudad. Acompañanos para conversar sobre nuestra relación con ella y sobre el estado del agua en Tijuana, Baja California y México.

📍 Tijuana: jueves 5 de noviembre, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Centro Cultural Tijuana - CECUT , Cineteca Carlos Monsiváis

El Evento es Gratuito: ¡Haz tu reservacion! Información y boletos en el link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-the-river-knows-lo-que-el-rio-conoce-tijuana-mx-511-tickets-2003746603029

Idioma: inglés con subtítulos en español
Comida: Se ofrecerán alimentos y bebidas.

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Huge shout out to Glen Canyon Institute for bringing What the River Knows to the Cali-Baja region, and a sincere thank you to the organizations in Tijuana and San Diego for their support in making this possible. 💙

The film takes us to Glen Canyon, a canyon on the Colorado River that is coming back to life as the waters of Lake Powell recede: a lost Eden that reveals the mistakes of the past and the possibility of a new path.

That same river gives life to Tijuana and several cities in northern Baja California. It is ancestral water, and perhaps the most important source of life for Tijuana. Join us to talk about our relationship with it and the current state of water in Tijuana, Baja California, and Mexico.

📍 Tijuana: Thursday, November 5, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Centro Cultural Tijuana - CECUT , Cineteca Carlos Monsiváis

Event is FREE: Make your reservation! Information and tickets available at the link:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-the-river-knows-lo-que-el-rio-conoce-tijuana-mx-511-tickets-2003746603029

Language: English with Spanish subtitles
Food: Snacks and drinks will be provided.

Somos Eticos, Proyecto Socioambiental Río Tijuana, Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental, Surfrider Foundation San Diego, Surfrider Foundation, San Diego Coastkeeper 4 Walls International, SD Foods, Tijuana River Coalition, Paving.Co & Green Talks

10/08/2026

Happy Donor-Advised Funds Day! 💙

Today, October 8th, is a great day to turn your charitable giving plans into meaningful impact. If you have a donor-advised fund (DAF), consider recommending a grant to support San Diego Coastkeeper and our work to protect Clean Water every day!

Your DAF gift can help us advocate to uphold clean water policies, monitor water quality, and hold polluters accountable, at a time when this work is crucially important.

Check out our “Ways To Give” for details on DAF giving and other ways to show support: https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/ways-to-give/

No DAF? You still make this work possible. Whether you join a cleanup, share our posts, speak up at a hearing, or give, thank you for showing up for clean water. 💙

10/06/2026

Join San Diego Coastkeeper and Caltrans Stormwater Program for a weeknight community cleanup and meetup this week, part of San Diego Climate Week! 🌊

As a volunteer, you play a vital role in determining the sources of trash on our beaches. The trash you collect becomes data in our reports, helping us track pollution sources and push for real change.

Come for the cleaning, stay for the connection!

📅 Thursday, October 8, 2026
🕒 3:00 – 5:00 PM
📍 1725 Fiesta Island Rd (look for our blue tent)

Details & Registration: https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/event/weeknight-cleanup-and-meetup-fiesta-island-mission-bay-2/

We look forward to seeing you there!

10/02/2026

The people's power to stop pollution is at risk. 🌊

Most clean water enforcement in the U.S. comes from everyday citizens – not government regulators.

“Citizen suits” empower individuals and nonprofits to take illegal polluters to federal court when agencies fall short.

Coastkeeper has used citizen suits to win big for San Diego:
💧 Pushed the City into over $1 billion in sewer upgrades
🎆 Got SeaWorld to commit to drones instead of fireworks over Mission Bay
🔧 Helped drive a full overhaul of the Tijuana River sewage plant

Now the Trump administration is trying to take that power away.

Our attorney, Courtney Brown, breaks down what's at stake and how you can help protect it.

Full blog here: https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/blog/without-citizen-suits-our-clean-water-protections-dont-stand-a-chance/

09/23/2026

On September 10th, we gathered at Bramble Bay Venue for our 2026 Seaside Soirée, and it was one for the books 🌅

The evening included a sunset over the wetlands, reggae grooves from Big Mountain, live art from Mikie Krisztal, and a whole lot of love for clean water.

Together, we raised $70,000 in critical support for the work that keeps San Diego's coast and waterways healthy, from water quality monitoring to the fight against the Tijuana River sewage crisis.

Huge thanks to The Stiefel Behner Charitable Fund, all of our event sponsors, speakers, and every single one of you who showed up for our coast. This work doesn't happen without you! 💙

09/16/2026

We're heading back to Rotary Park to count plastic pellets. Join us. 🌊

Last time, 7 volunteers found 444 plastic pellets in just 10 minutes.

Every pellet we count joins a growing dataset on plastic pellet pollution in San Diego County. San Diego Coastkeeper uses this data to push for real accountability and stronger protections for our waterways and coast!

Show up for just 10 minutes. The more people who join, the more data we collect.

📍 Rotary Park, Carlsbad — meet at the blue table near Carlsbad Village Dr.
🗓️ Sat, Sept 19
⏰ 9–10 AM

Closed-toed shoes + sunscreen recommended. All ages welcome.

Capacity limited, register here: https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/event/community-science-plastic-pellet-nurdle-cleanup-9-19-26/

09/11/2026

📊 Our 2025 Tijuana River Valley Water Quality Monitoring Report is out, confirming what South County residents have been living with: severe sewage contamination and industrial pollution throughout the lower watershed and estuary.

The findings:
🔸 E. coli levels at all four sites were often so high they exceeded the lab's measurable range
🔸 Industrial chemicals point to inadequate wastewater treatment at Tijuana's maquiladoras
🔸 Long-term monitoring is essential to document pollution, identify emerging concerns, and inform action

The report explains the watershed and the transboundary pollution crisis, then breaks down results on bacteria, pathogens, metals, PFAS, pesticides, and more.

It also covers what this data has helped us achieve, including legal wins and infrastructure funding, plus the community campaigns and binational partnerships that support this work, and what's still needed to resolve this crisis.

Read the report and explore the data here: https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/tijuana-river-map

09/04/2026

Meet one of this year’s Seaside Soirée special guest speakers: Andrew Meyer! 🐦🌊

Andrew is Director of Conservation at San Diego Bird Alliance, and also leads the ReWild Mission Bay Coalition, an effort unifying 100+ community partners to enhance and restore the natural wetlands in the northeast corner of Mission Bay, to ensure cleaner water, greater climate resiliency, increased carbon sequestration, and improved public access along our shared bayfront.

Andrew graduated from SUNY Binghamton in New York, later earning a Masters in Geography from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He worked for the Hudson River Estuary Program reconnecting aquatic habitat through culvert mitigation and dam removal projects. He has done field work in a wide variety of locations, researching and protecting a range of threatened and endangered species, before bringing his passion to San Diego.

Coastkeeper and the San Diego Bird Alliance (formerly known as San Diego Audubon Society) have partnered for many years to support efforts to protect waterways and wildlife, and have many recent wins to celebrate, such as helping to end the daily SeaWorld’s fireworks shows impacting Mission Bay, as well as the California Coastal Commission’s recent unanimous approval and strengthening of the De Anza Natural plan.

Hear from Andrew on September 10th at the Bramble Bay Venue in Imperial Beach!

🎟️ Tickets here: https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/community/seaside-soiree/

Only a few spots left! Sales close Friday at midnight.

09/03/2026

Meet one of this year’s Seaside Soirée special guest speakers: Laurie Silvan, Co-Founder and Board Chair of Tijuana Waterkeeper! 🌊🇲🇽🇺🇸

Laurie Silvan is a social anthropologist and environmental leader with four decades of work advancing community-based conservation and binational collaboration along the U.S.-Mexico border by helping to pioneer the Environmental Education Council of the Californias, the Border Power Plant Working Group, and the Binational Tijuana River Watershed Advisory Council. She co-founded Proyecto Fronterizo de Educación Ambiental, also known as Tijuana Waterkeeper, in 1991 and now chairs its Board of Directors.

As fellow members of the global Waterkeeper Alliance, San Diego Coastkeeper and Tijuana Waterkeeper work closely through our Binational Resilience Initiative project, One Coastal Community, a collaborative effort to address the greatest threat to our shared region’s waters: the Tijuana River Sewage Crisis. Together we host a One Coastal Community platform, a shared resource for water quality data, and convene a Binational Water Quality Working Group, which pulls together experts from both sides of the border to share information and collaboratively tackle cross-border pollution.

Hear from Laurie on September 10th at the Bramble Bay Venue in Imperial Beach!

Tickets here: https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/community/seaside-soiree/
Your ticket directly supports our work to protect and restore San Diego's waters.

08/21/2026

Speak up for San Diego’s bayfront by August 24!

The Port of San Diego is weighing a proposal to build a 3-story Topgolf on East Harbor Island with 100+ hitting bays, stadium lights, and acres of chemical-laden synthetic turf, directly on the bayfront.

Here’s the problem: San Diego’s tidelands are protected by state law for public, accessible, and water-oriented use. A private driving range checks none of those boxes.

The Draft Environmental Impact Report itself presents a better path forward: it identifies an All Park Alternative as the environmentally superior choice for this site.

That’s why we’re asking the Port to reject the Topgolf project and select a more reasonable alternative that serves the general public, like the All Park option.

Your input matters. The public comment period on the Draft EIR closes Monday, August 24 at 5PM.

Comment information here: https://www.portofsandiego.org/press-releases/general-press-releases/port-san-diego-releases-draft-eir-east-harbor-island

Address

8305 Vickers Street, Suite 209
San Diego, CA
92111

Website

https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/, https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/blog/, https://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/beach-cleanups/sponso

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