Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Border Pollution topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tijuana/New River pollution remains a region‑scale public‑health and environmental priority, regional staff say
Summary
San Diego and Colorado River board executives told the WQCC that cross‑border sewage remains a chronic problem: pump stations, an undersized diversion and operational failures have resulted in extended beach closures, odors, and impaired fisheries; regional cooperation, expanded treatment and trash‑capture projects are underway.
Regional water board executives described enduring cross‑border pollution and recent infrastructure steps intended to reduce sewage flows into the Tijuana River and the New River.
Dave Gibson, executive officer for the San Diego regional board, said the watershed has seen “1,615 nearly consecutive beach closure days” over the relevant window and widespread hydrogen‑sulfide odor episodes in nearby homes. Gibson and staff described the local configuration: sewer collection systems and pump station PB1 in Mexico, the San Antonio de los Buenos wastewater treatment plant (18 MGD capacity), and the U.S.‑operated International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) plant and outfall. He said many flows currently bypass treatment when systems exceed capacity and that the IBWC plant has been the subject of intensive oversight and (at times) litigation.
Regional staff and partners have pursued source‑control and conveyance improvements in Mexico, rehabilitation of sewer lines, expansions of treatment capacity and targeted U.S. projects such as a trash boom that captured an estimated 1,500 tons of debris in the recent rain year. Gibson described a package of projects in Mexico that — if completed by 2027 — would reduce cross‑border flows by an estimated 61 MGD, and he emphasized coordinated monitoring, a plan for bi‑national reporting and frequent oversight of major facilities.
In the Imperial Valley, Mike Placencia (Colorado River Basin board) described work on the New River Improvement Project in Calexico: trash‑screen installations, bypass conveyance and a pumpback system that routes disinfected treated effluent to hydrate a cleaned reach of river at the border. Placencia said while the infrastructure has reduced trash and changed flows in some reaches, updates and further reach‑by‑reach projects remain necessary.
Why it matters: Cross‑border flows deliver sewage and trash into U.S. coastal and inland waters, with public‑health and environmental impacts (beach closures, public complaints, fish kills and resident exposure to odors and gases). Regional EOs stressed both the operational challenge of maintaining equipment and the need for regionally sized treatment solutions.
What’s next: Regions will continue weekly coordination with IBWC and Mexican counterparts, push for expanded regional treatment capacity, maintain trash‑capture and monitoring programs, and produce biennial 'state of the watershed' reporting to track progress.
