The quantity of contaminated water laced with uncooked sewage that’s flowing throughout the U.S.-Mexico border into San Diego County exceeded 44 billion gallons in 2023, probably the most on file within the final quarter-century, in accordance with a brand new report.
And this 12 months’s volumes might surpass all data ought to the area get extra damaging rainstorms.
As of June, the U.S. Worldwide Boundary and Water Fee (IBWC) has recorded 33.55 billion gallons of polluted water flows within the river, which makes its means into the Tijuana River Valley and the Pacific Ocean. That’s sufficient water to fill greater than 50,000 Olympic swimming swimming pools.
The flows carry stormwater, groundwater and uncooked sewage to the ocean. Rainstorms up to now couple of years have introduced staggering quantities of that polluted stew over the border into San Diego County, flooding some South Bay roads the place folks have needed to be rescued, extending seashore closures, and bringing sedimentation and trash to the Tijuana River Valley.
A Jan. 22 storm stuffed a north levee close to the South Bay Worldwide Wastewater Therapy Plant with greater than 1,100 tons of particles. The cleanup job was completed in late Might.
The info was introduced Wednesday throughout a IBWC Residents Discussion board assembly, the place company officers gave updates on wastewater infrastructure tasks on each side of the U.S.-Mexico border which can be anticipated to cut back the quantity of untreated wastewater within the river.
“There’s lots of shifting items that we’re monitoring and managing with the intention to handle these transboundary flows and proper now there’s lots of catch-up work that must be performed,” mentioned Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner, who heads the U.S. part of the binational company.
On the U.S. facet, the IBWC is concentrated on repairing and increasing the South Bay plant. The 1997 facility has not been correctly maintained for many years and is doesn’t adjust to its Clear Water Act discharge allow.
Nevertheless it ought to attain compliance by subsequent month, officers mentioned. To get there, a number of elements which have been inoperable for years are being repaired or changed.
For instance, all 5 of the plant’s main sedimentation tanks, which take away solids from wastewater, had been out of fee since March 2023. Two are actually working and a 3rd is predicted to come back on-line subsequent week, mentioned Morgan Rogers, the plant’s space operations supervisor. A minimal of three is required for its allow and all 5 needs to be operational by September. The ability additionally has most of its influent pumps working once more, after Tropical Storm Hilary broke 5 of six. It had no spares. These pumps, costing a couple of $500,000 every, function the entryway into the power’s therapy course of. 4 new pumps have been ordered, three of which will probably be spares, mentioned Rogers.
“We had been down to 1 pump due to all of the extreme movement and trash and sediment that got here by means of,” he mentioned. “That is crucial. We virtually shut the plant down.”
The August 2023 storm additionally took out all 4 of the Hollister Pump Station’s pumps in an space the place a number of horse properties are situated. All pumps have been changed, however the facility continues to be experiencing malfunctions. Final month, a stress reduction valve on a surge tank caught open, inflicting tons of of 1000’s of gallons of wastewater to spill onto the road. The station stays out of service whereas the company works to exchange the tank.
On the identical time, the company is making an attempt to double the South Bay plant’s capability as a part of a significant plan to cut back cross-border air pollution. The IBWC expects to award a development contract someday subsequent month. Even with greater than $400 million Congress has allotted to the company up to now, officers estimate a scarcity of about $200 million for the growth undertaking.
On the south facet of the border, the Mexican navy is rebuilding a crippled sewage therapy plant in Baja California that has discharged 40 million gallons of wastewater per day into the ocean. Mexican officers mentioned the plant will probably be prepared by the tip of September or early October.
“We expect that’s fairly aggressive,” mentioned Rogers. “Hopefully, we’re on schedule. We’ll see some enchancment within the water high quality within the ocean down south.”
Mexico can be engaged on rehabilitating a global collector pipeline. Although its function is to move wastewater to the South Bay plant, its a number of fractures and leaks contribute to polluted flows within the Tijuana River. And to permit development work on the pipeline to proceed, a Mexican pumping station have to be shut down, sometimes leading to tens of tens of millions of gallons per day of additional wastewater into the South Bay plant or the Tijuana River channel.
Development on the pipeline needs to be accomplished this summer time, officers mentioned.
The juggling act of fixing longstanding malfunctions and repairing new ones has many South County residents and environmentalists questioning after they’ll discover reduction from air pollution, which has compromised public well being, the surroundings and the economic system on each side of the border.
San Diego Coastkeeper Government Director Phillip Musegaas is amongst them. He attended Wednesday’s Residents Discussion board.
“We’re appalled,” he mentioned. “That is outrageous that we’ve had this little progress over this period of time regardless of the massive infusion of federal funding that we’ve seen over $400 million up to now three years. We have to see extra progress.”
Coastkeeper and the Coastal Environmental Rights Basis are suing the binational company over water high quality allow violations for discharging “pollution corresponding to fecal micro organism, contaminated sediment, heavy metals, and poisonous chemical substances” into the ocean.
On the federal facet, San Diego’s congressional delegation is pushing so as to add extra funds from varied companies and departments to cowl the South Bay plant prices.
Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego) can be working to safe hazard pay for Border Patrol brokers working in polluted waters. And the state Legislature is contemplating a invoice from Sen. Steve Padilla (D-Chula Vista) that may require multinational corporations doing enterprise in California to cut back their wastewater discharges or face penalties.
Murga writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune
