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Mysterious Sewage Spill Baffles Officials

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer

Federal officials are investigating why millions of gallons of sewage-laden water isn’t making its way from Tijuana to the international wastewater treatment plant in the U.S. Instead, that untreated wastewater is flowing into San Diego through a border drain, which indicates there’s probably a broken pipe or a clog somewhere in Tijuana.

The runaway flow began Jan. 7 around 1:30 p.m. when almost a million gallons of sewage escaped from Tijuana through Stewart’s Drain, which sits just east of the International Wastewater Treatment plant operated by the International Boundary Water Commission.

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Who Owns the Tijuana River – and Who Needs Its Water Most

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer and Vicente Calderón

On a stormy day, 1 billion gallons of water can rage down the river crossing from Tijuana to San Diego.

None of that water is captured for reuse now among the two desert cities it splits, which are regularly prone to drought, because it’s considered polluted by sewage spills on the Mexican side. If successfully recycled, that water could prove to be valuable as the Southwest grows more water-uncertain due to climate change.

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New Snapshot of What’s in the Tijuana River Is as Gross as You’d Expect

/in , , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer

What’s in the Tijuana River?

Ammonia, a byproduct of raw sewage. Phosphorous, an ingredient in soaps and cleaners that’s banned in the U.S. Metals used in the industrial plating industry. Parasitic worms. And DEHP, a chemical added to plastics.

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EPA Announces Short-Term Projects to Plug Border Sewage Flow

/in , , /by /Courthouse News Serviceby Bianca Bruno

Emphasizing the “unprecedented” bipartisan cooperation between local and state governments, Border Patrol and the International Boundary & Water Commission, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced short-term projects Wednesday to plug the international sewage flow across the U.S.-Mexico border.

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