The short-term funding bill that will fund the federal government through March included an additional $250 million to address the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis.
The money bridges the gap needed to fully expand and repair the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP), which is a crucial component of the issue. Due to it and other infrastructure falling into disrepair, millions of gallons of untreated wastewater from Tijuana is dumped into the Pacific Ocean daily.
The ongoing flow of sewage has environmental and health concerns for residents on both sides of the border, as well as lengthy beach closures due to elevated bacteria in San Diego’s southern waters.
In the last two years, the federal government has allocated just over $700 million to solving the problem, which has been ongoing for decades. The most recent federal spending bill, which included the $250 million allocation for the sewage crisis, was signed by President Joe Biden on Dec. 21, 2024, avoiding a government shutdown.
Local politicians, grassroots movements, and citizens have pushed for more funding – and more visibility on the matter. Coronado leaders, including Mayor John Duncan and Former Mayor Richard Bailey, have traveled on multiple occasions to the capitol to lobby Congress for funding. Congressional Representative Scott Peters (CA-5) pushed for funding on the House floor.
Community organizers, such as Laura Wilkinson-Sinton, a co-founder of Stop the Sewage, also traveled the Washington, D.C., and helped to organize a handful of protests on Coronado Beach. A documentary outlining the crisis premiered at the 2023 Coronado Island Film Festival.
The repair and expansion of the SBIWTP launched Oct. 29, 2024, and will take a maximum of five years.
Rehabilitation and expansion of the plant will double its capacity and, alongside other related projects, is expected to reduce the flow of untreated sewage into the Pacific Ocean by up to 90%.
The SBIWTP will be designed as it’s built in effort to expedite the construction process. The IBWC said the design-build method could reduce the project’s timeline by as many as 18 months. The plant will remain in operation as construction is underway.
Additional projects to curb the problem are underway as well, overseen by the International Boundary and Water Commission, which is also responsible for the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. Mexico is also working to update and repair its own sewage treatment infrastructure.
Although the IBWC is a federal office, state funding has also been allocated to assist residents dealing with the pollution. San Diego County in Oct. 2024 announced plans to purchase and distribute $2.7 million in air purifiers for South Bay residents, to be reimbursed by the state.
Since 2019, California has allocated $35 million to support pollution remediation and cleanup efforts.
