For decades South Bay communities have faced the repercussions of failing sewage and wastewater facilities on both sides of the border.
The Tijuana River sewage crisis in San Diego has something in common with a historic water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan: a contractor accused in lawsuits of making matters worse.
Tens of thousands of South Bay residents will pay more for water next year.
The Sweetwater Authority approved a .5% rate hike beginning Jan. 1 and another 6% hike the following year. By 2026, rates could go up another 6.5%, according to the agency.
Water quality data shows bacteria levels in the ocean along South Bay beaches have been hundreds of times over what’s considered safe for human health this past week. The culprit, per usual, is sewage flowing from Mexico into the Tijuana River which empties into the Pacific Ocean just south of San Diego’s southernmost cities. But the people who manage wastewater infrastructure in the U.S.-Mexico border say respite is nigh.
A $5 million cleanup project in the Tijuana River Valley will begin in early 2024, with a completion date before the end of March, officials said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 in favor of dredging drainage channels and building a basin for sediment and trash control in the Smuggler’s Gulch and Pilot channels.
Most of the fish that Marco Valdez catches at the mouth of the Sweetwater River in the South Bay he throws back. He says that in his community, talk of water contamination circulates on the regular – and ever more often.
“You hear this in the news all the time, Pa’,” Valdez told an inewsource reporter as he reeled in his line.
The Tijuana River sewage emergency has reached the state level once again.
All 18 mayors in San Diego County have sent another letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, asking for his help to address the ongoing sewage and chemical pollutants flowing into the ocean from the river.
The San Diego Unified Port District is adding its voice to the call for a state of emergency over cross-border sewage flows in the South Bay.
The port sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom asking him to take the issue seriously.
Residents in San Diego’s South Bay were left to deal with a strong odor after thousands of gallons of sewage spilled onto a roadway.
The International Boundary and Water Commission confirmed that about 20,000 gallons spilled onto Hollister Street on Monday afternoon.
San Diego County is using new, high-tech tests that will allow officials to test ocean water and find out if that water is safe for swimming, in just one day. County supervisor Nora Vargas said the county is the first local government to get U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approval to use the new, sophisticated tests. The switch is the culmination of years of testing.
Despite recent rain, California is still in the depths of a drought. Conditions have improved, but barely. Most of the state is still in exceptional or extreme drought. In the South Bay, a million residents will soon be hit with the toughest water restrictions of any major urban area in California. Late Wednesday, the state PUC gave final approval to San Jose Water Company’s plan. Approval by state regulators means the call to cut water use is no longer voluntary for South Bay residents.
