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San Diego County Officials Applaud Mexico Groundbreaking Of Wastewater Treatment Plant

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.

Hurricane Hilary Forms Off Mexico’s Pacific Coast and Could Bring Rain to US Southwest

Hilary strengthened into a hurricane off Mexico’s Pacific coast Thursday, and it could bring heavy rain to the U.S. southwest by the weekend.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center is reporting that Hilary had maximum winds of 85 mph (140 kph) and was expected to strengthen into a major hurricane and perhaps skim the coast of the Baja California peninsula by the weekend.

How US-Mexico Collaboration Could Help Stabilize the Drought-Stricken Colorado River Basin

As stakeholders across the U.S. West prepare to rewrite the rules on Colorado River conservation, experts are urging them to consider Mexico’s needs up front.

The 1,450-mile waterway, which stretches from the Rocky Mountains to the Sonoran Desert, is considered the lifeblood for about 40 million people in both countries.

Mexico Steps Up Rain-Making Project Amid Intense Heatwave and Drought

Amid a historic heatwave and months of drought, Mexico’s government has launched the latest phase of a cloud seeding project it hopes will increase rainfall. The project, which began in July, involves planes flying into clouds to release silver iodide particles which then, in theory, will attract additional water droplets and increase rain or snowfall.

Tijuana, Reliant on the Colorado River, Faces a Water Crisis

Luis Ramirez leapt onto the roof of his bright blue water truck to fill the plastic tank that by day’s end would empty into an assortment of buckets, barrels and cisterns in 100 homes.

It was barely 11 a.m. and Ramirez had many more stops to make on the hilly, grey fringes of Tijuana, a sprawling, industrial border city in northwestern Mexico where trucks or “pipas” like Ramirez’s provide the only drinking water for many people.

“Each time, it gets farther and farther where we have to go,” he said, blaming the city’s water problems on drought and population growth, before jumping into the driver’s seat next to 16-year-old assistant Daniel Alvarez.

Among the last cities downstream to receive water from the shrinking Colorado River, Tijuana is staring down a water crisis driven also by aging, inefficient infrastructure and successive governments that have done little to prepare the city for diminishing water in the region.

Emergency Water Delivery-Tijuana-San Diego County Water Authority

Water Authority Delivers Emergency Water Supply to Tijuana

Fast action by the San Diego County Water Authority and its partners is helping maintain water service in Tijuana after problems with the city’s aqueduct emerged in December.

Emergency water deliveries started last week after a coordinated effort between the Water Authority, Otay Water District, and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). The typical multi-month approval process was compressed into a few days to avoid additional water supply shortages in Tijuana.

Agency accelerates emergency water delivery

“We’re extremely proud of how quickly the Water Authority staff worked to meet the emergency water needs of our neighbors to the south,” said Mel Katz, Water Authority Board Chair. “Coordinating with multiple agencies and getting the necessary approvals in just three days was a team effort and is a credit to the Water Resources and Operations & Maintenance departments.”

Cross-border emergency deliveries started more than 50 years ago and are governed by an agreement between the United States and Mexico to provide Tijuana with a portion of Mexico’s Colorado River supply. The Water Authority provides emergency water deliveries to Mexico through a cross-border connection in Otay Mesa. These deliveries use Water Authority, Otay Water District, and MWD facilities to transport the emergency supplies from the Colorado River to Mexico, which pays transportation costs on deliveries to Tijuana and provides funds for meter connection upkeep. Deliveries are typically planned months in advance due to the number of government agencies involved.

Coordination with multiple agencies

On January 2, the Water Authority received a request for emergency water delivery to Tijuana. Water Authority staff immediately expedited the complex approval process during this unplanned Tijuana aqueduct outage. Those steps included working with the U.S. International Boundary & Water Commission, Otay Water District, and MWD to confirm system capacity availability and establish costs associated with the additional emergency deliveries.

The current water deliveries are scheduled to continue until the end of February. Consistent with the previously approved schedule, planned water deliveries will restart in April and continue through September 2023.

(Editor’s note: The Otay Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across San Diego County.)

In Mexico’s Dry North, Colorado River Adds to Uncertainty

When Gilbert Quintana, a farmer in the Mexicali Valley, learned he would soon lose 15% of his water supply, he did what he’s done before in a pinch: buy water from other growers in northern Mexico.

But Quintana worries that such workarounds won’t always be possible. The water used to irrigate his 2,000 acres of (800 hectares) of Brussel sprouts, green onions, and lettuce comes from the over-tapped Colorado River, which a megadrought in the American West due in part to climate change is rapidly depleting.

 

(AP EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a collaborative series on the Colorado River as the 100th anniversary of the historic Colorado River Compact approaches. The Associated Press, The Colorado Sun, The Albuquerque Journal, The Salt Lake Tribune, The Arizona Daily Star and The Nevada Independent are working together to explore the pressures on the river in 2022.)

On the Frontlines of Drought, Communities in Mexico Strive to Save Every Drop of Water

“Look up to the El Peral mountains. That is where we do our ritual ceremony to call for rain,” says Josefina Santiago, 43, a Zapotec Indigenous leader. “We bury chocolate, flowers and a maize beverage called tejate to ask for gentle rainfall. We call ourselves water sowers: [we are] reclaiming our traditional rituals while developing absorption wells, water pans, and small dams.”

Amid Drought, Tijuana Is Paying California for Colorado River Water

Tijuana is paying California for more water than it has in recent years as the city faces a growing population coupled with blistering drought that’s gripping the entire West.

Northern Baja is entitled by treaty to 1.5-million-acre feet of Colorado River water per year, which is Tijuana’s primary water source. But for years the amount that goes to Tijuana hasn’t been enough to quench demand.

U.S., Mexico Pledge Half a Billion Dollars to Fight Cross-Border Pollution From Tijuana Sewage

A nearly half-billion-dollar investment in new sewage treatment facilities in Tijuana could clean up perpetually polluted beaches in San Diego, U.S. and Mexican officials say.

Officials from both countries signed a treaty through the International Boundary and Water Commission that commits to funding new sanitation projects during a ceremony at the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve in Imperial Beach on Thursday.