Tag Archive for: Tijuana River

Environment Report: Tijuana and San Diego Share a Sewage Problem But Not a Solution

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

Vicente Calderon from Tijuana Press and I spend a lot of time picking our way around the sewage-laden Tijuana River, asking ourselves: How is it still this bad? Our latest story from the cross-border sewage crisis plaguing Tijuana and San Diego illuminated that the current approach to solving the problem is a lot like putting a Band-Aid on the stomach flu. The Band-Aid in this case is $300 million that Congress has charged the Environmental Protection Agency with deciding how to spend. But really, and here’s the flu part of the allegory, a lot of Tijuana’s infrastructure is just old and broken, or was never even built to support the neighborhoods that popped up on its hillsides.

Full Story

Public Weighs Potential Fixes to Plug Sewage Problem at US-Mexico Border

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

The San Diego region last year secured $300 million to plug a decades-long wastewater pollution crises in waters that snake across the U.S.-Mexico border and dump raw sewage, trash and sediment into the Pacific Ocean.

On Tuesday, Environmental Protection Agency officials held a virtual public meeting attended by more than 130 people to reveal 10 project proposals being considered to fix crumbing wastewater infrastructure at the border using the $300 million earmarked by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Full Story

Two Sources of U.S.-Mexico Sewage Flows Are Fighting for One Pot of Money

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

If the San Diego-Tijuana region were a human body, it’d have the stomach flu: Bad stuff is coming out of both ends. But instead of tackling the complicated source of the infection, the border towns are fighting over where to put a Band-Aid.

Full Story

We’re About to Drink Recycled Water But Don’t Know What’s in it

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

I’ve been writing a lot about the broken sewage system in Tijuana causing spills into San Diego. Part of the concern, San Diego officials told me, is that Mexico lacks a system to monitor whether businesses are dumping toxic waste into the sewer system.

That’s part of the reason why it’s risky to reuse any of that river water because, if we don’t know what’s in the water, we can’t be sure how to best treat it.

Full Story

Bill Introduced to Address Water Pollution at U.S.-Mexico Border

/in , , /by /Times of San Diegoby City News Service

A coalition of San Diego County elected representatives introduced a bill Monday to address water pollution along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act would designate the Environmental Protection Agency as the lead coordinating federal, state, and local agencies’ efforts to build and maintain infrastructure projects aimed at reducing pollution along the border.

Full Story

Bill Introduced to Reduce Water Pollution at US-Mexico Border

/in , , /by /KPBS San Diegoby City News Service

A bill aimed at addressing pollution along the U.S.-Mexico border and improving water quality in the Tijuana and New rivers was introduced Wednesday.

The Border Water Quality Restoration and Protection Act would designate the Environmental Protection Agency as the lead agency coordinating federal, state and local agencies to build and maintain infrastructure projects aimed at reducing pollution along the border. It would also require the EPA and other agencies to identify a list of priority projects and would authorize the EPA to accept and distribute federal, state, and local funds to build, operate and maintain those projects.

Full Story

Mexico Says It Fixed the Tijuana River Sewage Problem. It’s Partly True

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

Like a giant garbage disposal, three huge new green pipes sit on Mexico’s side of the border, shredding trash in the Tijuana River that would otherwise jam this critical piece of th­­e city’s wastewater system that caused spills on the United States side.

Full Story

County Supervisors Declare Public Health Crisis in Tijuana River Valley

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby City News Service

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday to declare pollution at the Tijuana River Valley a public health crisis.

Supervisor Nora Vargas said the action is needed because of the decades-long contamination of River Valley, which has resulted in environmental and health damage. According to the county, the region has long suffered from poor air quality, sewage leaks, waste from industrial plants, tire waste, plastic pollution, sediment, and trash.

Full Story

San Diego Officials Call Tijuana River Valley Sewage Flow a Public Health Crisis

/in , /by /KPBS FM/TVby Erik Anderson

San Diego County declared a public health crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border because sewage tainted water continues to flow into the U.S. and the region endures a lot of other pollution.

All five members of the San Diego Board of Supervisors voted to approve it.

It is a new tactic for clean water groups concerned about pollution in the area.

Full Story

Imperial Beach Mayor Asking San Diego County to Declare a State of Emergency After Sewage Spill

/in , /by /CBS 8 (San Diego)by LaMonica Peters

Officials in Imperial Beach continue to grapple with sewage spilling into the Tijuana River after heavy rains, polluting the air and the water along south San Diego.

Wednesday, President Biden unveiled his plans to put environmental justice at the top of his list to fight climate change. Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina said he applauds the move and he wants to Imperial Beach to be a part of the new plan.

Full Story