Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Cross-Border Sewage Pump Station Offline After a Spill

The estimated transboundary flow at Smuggler’s Gulch was 202,000 gallons per day on Jan. 2. IBWC photo.

The Hollister Wastewater Pump Station is offline after a spill at the facility on Jan. 1.

An estimated 30,000 gallons of sewage was spilled, with 22,000 gallons recovered, according the International Boundary and Water Commission, which oversees the plant.

The pump station is responsible for transferring sewage from Tijuana to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant for processing. That plant is currently in disrepair, but is undergoing rehabilitation and expansion.

Millions of gallons of untreated wastewater is dumped into the Pacific Ocean daily due to failing infrastructure on both sides of the border, but both Mexico and the United States made strides in addressing the issue last year. Projects to curb the problem are underway, though they are expected to take years.

The cause of the most recent spill is still under investigation, but the IBWC said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it suspects the spill resulted from an excess of sediment and trash in the flows from canyon collectors.

Both Goat’s Canyon and Smuggler’s Gulch collectors stopped working and experienced transboundary flows once the Hollister Pump Station stopped working. On Jan. 2, the estimated flow through Smuggler’s Gulch was 202,000 gallons per day, while Goat’s Canyon was estimated at 108,000 gallons per day.

At time of publication, the IBWC had not yet issued an update on the infrastructure’s projected reopening.

The Hollister Street Pump Station spilled in June 2024, and again in Aug. 2023.

Sediment is not a new issue for the infrastructure that is meant to treat Tijuana’s wastewater. Last summer, Maria-Elena Giner, commissioner for the IBWC, said that increased, unexplained sediment was causing trouble at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP).

In June, for example, the IBWC finished repairs on a primary sediment tank at the SBIWTP. The plant has five of such tanks, and their role is to remove all solid waste from influent wastewater. Three should be operating at all times, with the other two meant as redundancies.

The IBWC activated its newly repaired tank on June 7. By June 10, it jammed and went offline. Then, on July 3, another tank was repaired and turned on, before a chain snapped on July 16.

Despite setbacks, an influx of funding from the federal government will pave the way for repairs after decades of sewage flow. In the last two years, the government has allocated just over $700 million toward repairs.

By contrast, the IBWC’s budget for construction was about $211 million in 2022, more than double its 2019 budget of around $103 million. The agency does not only oversee sewage infrastructure related to Tijuana’s issues; it manages levees, dams, and sanitation along the entire US-Mexico border.

Coronado’s residents and leaders have long been pushing for additional funding to address the issue, which has prompted health and environmental concerns, a lingering stench plaguing South Bay residents, and lengthy beach closures.

 



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Megan Kitt
Megan Kitt
Megan has worked as a reporter for more than 10 years, and her work in both print and digital journalism has been published in more than 25 publications worldwide. She is also an award-winning photographer. She holds BA degrees in journalism, English literature and creative writing and an MA degree in creative writing and literature. She believes a quality news publication's purpose is to strengthen a community through informative and connective reporting.Megan is also a mother of three and a Navy spouse. After living around the world both as a journalist and as a military spouse, she immediately fell in love with San Diego and Coronado for her family's long-term home.Have news to share? Send tips, story ideas or letters to the editor to: [email protected]

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