Raw Sewage Spill Fouls Waters Between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico

Crews performing repairs to a system of pipes meant to ship sewage flows from the Tijuana, Mexico, space to therapy vegetation on each side of the U.S.-Mexico border reported a rupture starting the night time of March 8 that despatched thousands and thousands of gallons of sewage into the Tijuana River Valley and, finally, into the Pacific Ocean on the U.S. facet of the border.

The spill got here after a couple of days of rain strained the dilapidated water administration system within the river valley on each side of the border.
The stream triggered an accumulation of particles that blocked one of many South Bay Worldwide Wastewater Therapy Plant’s junction bins leading to minimal flows reaching the plant in southern San Diego County.

“We’re working intently with [Mexican authorities] to make sure ample flows arrive on the SBIWTP to keep up our organic therapy course of,” stated Dr. Maria-Elena Giner, commissioner of the U.S. part of the Worldwide Boundary Water Fee in a press release, The IBWC is a federal company created by treaty to handle water points between the 2 nations throughout the complete southern border from Texas to California. 

The U.S. part of the IBWC stated Mexican authorities are ready for a break within the rain so their personnel can restore the Sanchez Taboada collector, part of the previous worldwide collector system. This collapsed pipeline will lead to a discharge of roughly 3.4 million gallons per day to the Tijuana River for roughly six weeks, in line with the assertion. The U.S. part of the IBWC and U.S. Environmental Safety Company proceed to carry every day calls with Mexico to get updates concerning the Worldwide Collector challenge.

The worldwide collector is a largely new pipeline meant to ship uncooked sewage to wastewater therapy vegetation within the each U.S. and Mexico. The previous worldwide collector system had pipes that ran uphill in a number of sections and had been vulnerable to breaking down due to gravity along with being older and in disrepair. Mexican building crews are at present putting in a bypass to forestall sewage from escaping whereas the brand new collector is accomplished and put on-line.

Giner’s assertion additionally stated Mexico continues to seek for the supply of the sewage flows initially escaping from the previous worldwide collector pipe system that was being rehabilitated and partially changed. “They guarantee us they’ve developed a contingency plan to divert these flows in the course of the rehabilitation challenge.”

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin posted on the X social media platform March 8, “I used to be simply briefed that Mexico is dumping massive quantities of uncooked sewage into the Tijuana River, and it’s now seeping into the U.S. That is unacceptable. Mexico MUST honor its commitments to manage this air pollution and sewage,” he wrote.

Giner stated she was inspired by Zeldin’s assertion and the mayor of Imperial Seashore, Calif., Paloma Aguirre, had written a letter to Zeldin March 3 asking for a brand new assessment of the state of affairs on the border, estimating that 31 billion gallons of uncooked sewage, polluted stormwater and trash had entered her neighborhood by way of the Tijuana River since 2023. Aguirre stated she was inspired that the EPA bought concerned. 

“I’m glad that he acknowledged that it is a disaster,” Aguirre stated in a press release. The U.S. part of the IBWC most lately agreed to more testing for affected communities and Veolia Water North America, which operates the South Bay plant for the fee, has confronted lawsuits from residents concerning the fouled air and closed seashores. Veolia’s personnel helped Mexican authorities with emergency work on the ruptured worldwide collector pipes within the final week.

The continuing worldwide collector rehabilitation and substitute challenge contains relining and changing sections of pipe, growing the reliability of the collector whereas decreasing leaks. Giner’s assertion stated the work was to be accomplished in a single section, which might have despatched roughly 25-30 thousands and thousands gallons every day of wastewater into the Tijuana River over the course of about three to 4 weeks. 

Mexico agreed to alter plans after U.S. part of the IBWC, EPA, and the U.S. State Division urged it to implement a bypass answer whereas ultimate connections had been made. When accomplished, the bypass ought to forestall greater than half a billion gallons of wastewater from reaching the river by the point the challenge is completed later this yr.

The brand new worldwide collector is deliberate to have the capability to hold as much as 60 million gpd of wastewater and sludge to the South Bay Worldwide Wastewater Plant and the San Antonio de los Buenos plant on the Mexican facet of the border, bringing extra resiliency to the sewage infrastructure in Tijuana and decreasing transboundary flows.

Giner has been praised by officers on each side of the border for bringing motion and transparency to coping with the continued disaster over the past 4 years however she and the incoming Trump administration haven’t but agreed to increase her time period because the commissioner-engineer in command of the U.S. part of the federal company.