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War of Words Heats up Over International Efforts to Clean up Border Sewage

/in , , /by /Border Report (Nexstar Media Group)by Salvador Rivera

Baja California Gov. Jaime Bonilla is involved in a war of words with a California mayor over cleanup efforts along the Tijuana River Valley, which lies between Tijuana and the city of San Diego.

For decades, raw sewage, trash and debris have flowed from south of the border into the U.S.

Most of those materials, especially the raw sewage, end up in the Pacific Ocean, forcing the closure of beaches in cities like Imperial Beach where over the last nine months, beaches have been closed 180 days due to high bacteria levels in the ocean water.

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Mexican Water Wars: Dam Seized, Troops Deployed, at Least One Killed in Protests About Sharing with U.S.

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Times by Patrick J. McDonnell

Mexico’s water wars have turned deadly.

A long-simmering dispute about shared water rights between Mexico and the United States has erupted into open clashes pitting Mexican National Guard troops against farmers, ranchers and others who seized a dam in northern Chihuahua state.

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New Border Wall to Cut Through Tijuana River Channel

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Kristina Davis

Plans are underway to build a new section of border wall that will cut through the Tijuana River channel — a concrete culvert where toxic sludge runs into the U.S. and where Border Patrol and caravan migrants violently clashed in 2018.

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Mexico Says Help Is On The Way For Communities Suffering From Cross Border Pollution Flows

/in , , /by /KPBS San Diegoby Erik Anderson

Mexican officials say there may be relief soon for San Diego South Bay residents living with massive daily sewage flows from Tijuana.

The sewage-tainted flows routinely hit 25 million gallons a day. Some days earlier this year, the flow topped 70 million gallons.

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Binational ‘Meeting of the Minds’ on TRV Contamination

/in , /by /The Coronado Times

California State Senator Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) convened a half-day meeting at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant on July 9, 2020 between officials from both sides of the border to discuss the binational efforts that are underway to stem the flow of toxic wastewater in the Tijuana River Valley.

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San Diego and Tijuana Announce Plans to Improve Tijuana River Water Treatment

/in , , /by /KPBS-FM/TV (City News Service)by City News Service

Both United States and Mexican officials announced separate plans Tuesday to upgrade Tijuana River wastewater facilities.

The international river has been a longtime problem for residents of Imperial Beach and Tijuana, as sewage and trash from the river have spilled into the Pacific Ocean for decades, often closing beaches near the border and damaging natural habitats along the river.

The Tijuana River straddles the U.S.-Mexico border, picking up sewage and trash along its winding and cross-border path. Over the last 40 years water- treatment facilities have been overrun with sewage and trash, especially during the rainy season.

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California Wants Feds to Address Cross-Border Sewage

/in , , /by /KPBSby Erik Anderson

State water pollution regulators in San Diego are asking federal officials to do more monitoring of cross-border water flows that could be polluted.

The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board issued an investigative order in February that requires more monitoring of sewage-tainted cross-border flows.

The order requires the International Boundary and Water Commission to monitor more than a dozen locations over an 18-month period.

Regional Board Executive Director David Gibson said the order also calls for the testing results to be made public.

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Body Trapped In Tijuana Pump Station Caused Sewage Spill Into US

/in , /by /KPBSby Erik Anderson

A body trapped inside a pump station in Tijuana prevented a pump station from diverting sewage south. That caused more than 14 million gallons of sewage to spill across the U.S.-Mexico border over the weekend, federal officials said.

The spill started around 9 p.m. Sunday night and continued until 8 a.m. Monday morning, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission. The trans-boundary flows included treated and untreated sewage.

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