Mexico has broken ground on a long-awaited replacement for a crumbling wastewater treatment plant in Baja California that officials said will dramatically reduce the discharge of sewage that has fouled San Diego and Tijuana shorelines.
Mexico broke ground Thursday on the long-awaited replacement for a crumbling wastewater treatment plant in Baja California that officials said will dramatically reduce the discharge of sewage that has fouled San Diego and Tijuana shorelines.
Manuel Machado Gerardo watched the mighty Colorado River Delta die perhaps more clearly than any man alive. Taking the final drags from his cigarette, he steps outside his home to greet the 112-degree heat and survey the hundreds of acres of northern Mexico farmland he’s owned for decades.
A tentative agreement has been reached with Baja California officials to begin mitigation measures to prevent raw sewage from leaking into the Pacific Ocean.
Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina told KPBS Midday Edition he met Tuesday night with Kurt Honold, Baja California’s secretary of economy and innovation, and Jose Armando Fernandez, secretary of water for Baja California.
The beaches in Imperial Beach have been closed for months due to pollution and the coronavirus pandemic, causing the economy and residents to be negatively impacted.
Mayor Pro Tem, Paloma Aguirre joined Good Morning San Diego to discuss a new report claiming that an audit done by Baja California governor accuses big US companies of water theft and contributed to raw sewage and hazardous pollutants ending up in the Tijuana River.
An independent audit of Baja California’s water agency alleges that former employees of the utility colluded with international corporations to defraud the state out of at least $49.4 million, according to an auditor and the governor of the state.
The hottest temperatures of the week are expected Wednesday throughout San Diego County, but relief will arrive this weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
High pressure over Baja California will keep temperatures warm through Friday throughout the county, then temperatures will drop quickly and return to around seasonal average on Sunday, forecasters said.
A heat advisory is in effect until 9 p.m. Friday in the western valleys and an excessive heat watch will also last until 9 p.m. Friday in the deserts.
High temperatures Wednesday are forecast to reach 82 degrees near the coast, 90 inland, 96 in the western valleys, 95 in the mountains and 110 in the deserts.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that it will award nearly $280,000 to four environmental projects benefiting the U.S.-Mexico border region between California and Baja California. With matching funds, the total benefit to the projects will total over half a million dollars.
Tijuana and Rosarito residents may have gotten a brief reprieve from scheduled water shut-offs, but the delivery of water throughout Baja California is a vulnerable system in need of urgent repairs, state and water officials stressed this week.
Like San Diego, Tijuana gets most of its water supply — at least 95 percent — from the Colorado River. It’s delivered through a single aqueduct that carries the water all the way across the state, including up and over La Rumorosa, a mountain pass more than 4,000 feet above sea level.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
