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 remedy vegetation on either side of the U.S.-Mexico border reported a rupture starting the night time of March 8 that despatched hundreds of thousands of gallons of sewage into the Tijuana River Valley and, ultimately, into the Pacific Ocean on the U.S. facet of the border.

The spill got here after just a few days of rain strained the dilapidated water administration system within the river valley on either side of the border.
The move induced an accumulation of particles that blocked one of many South Bay Worldwide Wastewater Remedy Plant’s junction packing containers leading to minimal flows reaching the plant in southern San Diego County.

“We’re working carefully with [Mexican authorities] to make sure ample flows arrive on the SBIWTP to keep up our organic remedy course of,” stated Dr. Maria-Elena Giner, commissioner of the U.S. part of the Worldwide Boundary Water Fee in an announcement, The IBWC is a federal company created by treaty to handle water points between the 2 nations throughout your entire 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, based on 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 in regards to the Worldwide Collector challenge.

The worldwide collector is a largely new pipeline supposed to ship uncooked sewage to wastewater remedy vegetation within the each U.S. and Mexico. The previous worldwide collector system had pipes that ran uphill in a number of sections and have been vulnerable to breaking down due to gravity along with being older and in disrepair. Mexican development crews are presently putting in a bypass to stop 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 throughout 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 giant 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 Seaside, Calif., Paloma Aguirre, had written a letter to Zeldin March 3 asking for a brand new evaluate of the scenario on the border, estimating that 31 billion gallons of uncooked sewage, polluted stormwater and trash had entered her group by way of the Tijuana River since 2023. Aguirre stated she was inspired that the EPA obtained concerned. 

“I’m glad that he acknowledged that this can be a disaster,” Aguirre stated in an announcement. The U.S. part of the IBWC most just 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 in regards to 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 lowering leaks. Giner’s assertion stated the work was to be accomplished in a single part, which might have despatched roughly 25-30 hundreds of 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 have been made. When accomplished, the bypass ought to stop 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 lowering transboundary flows.

Giner has been praised by officers on either 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.