After lengthy discourse about whether doing so would help solve the problem, the Coronado City Council on March 4 voted to declare a local emergency for the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis.
The declaration will return to the council every 60 days for review.
Everyone agreed: The persistent pollution from Tijuana constitutes an emergency. But, critics say, declaring an emergency would be a purely symbolic act, as Coronado is not the agency that maintains the sewage infrastructure that causes the problem. Others questioned if the move would impact small businesses and the local economy.
But the council decided the symbolism is important and might entice state and local leaders to view the matter as more urgent. The council voted 4-1 on the declaration, hoping the move might help the city with its ongoing advocacy to stop the millions of gallons of untreated wastewater that are dumped into the Pacific Ocean each day.
Although funding is in place for the expansion and rehabilitation of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, the plant must be maintained once complete, and the International Boundary and Water Commission, which manages it, said the plant fell into disrepair due to budget constraints. Between 2010 and 2021, about $4 million total was invested into the treatment plant.
Council Member Mark Fleming voted against the emergency declaration. Council Member Carrie Downey was also critical of the move, but said she would support the consensus.
“This is affecting business right now,” Fleming said, “and when we declare the state of emergency, I am so concerned that we’re just going to draw a lot more attention to it. We’re going to make it much more difficult for people to decide that they’re going to include Coronado in their summer vacation plans, and our local businesses will suffer.”
Todd Little, executive director of Discover Coronado, voiced similar concerns during public comment.
“While the gravity of the crisis cannot be understated, the economic ramifications must also be considered,” he said. “Coronado businesses, both small and large, are already suffering from dwindling patronage, and a state of emergency declaration could further jeopardize their ability to remain financially solvent in 2025.”
Fleming argued that, with repairs to Mexico’s San Antonio de los Buenos Wastewater Treatment Plant nearly complete, and with the dry season approaching, water quality might not be an issue this summer. Wet weather exacerbates transboundary flow and often precedes beach closures. The new plant will have a capacity of 18 million gallons per day and is expected to be complete in April.
However, its completion has been delayed before, and Council Member Kelly Purvis said she was skeptical that it would be operational in April. It was originally projected to be complete last fall.
Council Member Amy Steward said the city should do everything it can to expedite solving the decades-long problem – including declaring an emergency.
“It may be symbolic, but you know what? It’s something that’s symbolic that means a lot to our fellow coastal cities, to our neighbors, our sister cities, the five other jurisdictions that have said we need to declare an emergency,” Steward said.
Mayor John Duncan and Purvis also supported the declaration, saying it would communicate to leaders the urgency of the situation, as well as provide a united front with other jurisdictions who have declared their own local emergencies, like Imperial Beach and the Port of San Diego.
Downey questioned the efficacy of the declaration.
“Under no circumstances should anybody assume that I – and, I’m assuming, Council Member Fleming – do not think it is of the utmost importance that we deal with this issue,” Downey said. “The only difference we’re having is that whether this vote would make a difference or not.”
A declaration of an emergency is a legal mechanism that governments can use to request funding or seek procedural lenience to expedite repairs of infrastructure. For example, Coronado declared a local emergency after the January 2024 storm that brought flooding to the city. Doing so allowed the city to waive certain requirements in building the Parker Pump Station bypass. The project was completed in days, when it usually would have taken months.
Downey also said that the city needs a clear plan for when it will end the local emergency.
Purvis said that, if Mexico’s wastewater treatment plant is operational in 60 days, she would consider ending the declaration. Duncan said he would support ending the declaration if Coronado’s beaches are open this summer.
Currently, the Silver Strand shoreline from north of Carnation Ave. to south of Avenida Lunar is closed, and has been since Jan. 31. The Imperial Beach shoreline and the Tijuana Slough shorelines are also closed.
Duncan suggested that every 60 days, reissuing the emergency declaration be placed on the council’s agenda for discussion, rather than on the consent calendar. Consent items are considered routine, and are often approved in a single motion without discussion.
Still, he said, he hoped the declaration would help with advocacy federally.
“Every pressure point may have an effect on the outcome,” he said.
