Note: This article originally published on May 19. It was updated around 8 a.m. on May 20 as new information emerged. More information will be published as it becomes available.
The expansion of a critical treatment plant causing the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis is being fast-tracked.
An expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) that was originally projected to take two years will now be complete in 100 days.
The expansion will increase the plant’s capacity from 25 million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater to 35 MGD.
The accelerated timeline was announced in a brief press release from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and US International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) on Tuesday morning.
The entire project, projected to take up to five years, will increase the plant’s capacity to 50 MGD, with a maximum peak flow of 75 MGD. A spokesperson from the IBWC said that this move aims to accelerate the entire project, but the new timeline for the whole expansion is not yet known.
Below is the original article:
As repairs to the infrastructure causing the decades-long Tijuana sewage crisis slog forward, the US is asking that Mexico agree to a “100 percent solution.”
Lee Zeldin, the administrator for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said during testimony before the House Appropriations Committee last week that the US has submitted a proposed plan to Mexico and is awaiting feedback.
Zeldin did not elaborate on what the plan entails, but says it will stop all, not most, of the raw sewage from Tijuana that is dumped into the ocean each day. It also addresses a long-time concern from leaders and advocates: Tijuana’s explosive population growth.
“It’s very important that on the Mexican side, they factor in the population growth in Tijuana, because you need to make sure that solution is not just one for 2025; it’s a solution for 2035,” Zeldin said.
A recording of his testimony is available here. Zeldin begins discussing sewage infrastructure at 59:16.
Tijuana has a population of 2.33 million, a 1.57 percent increase since its 2.29 million population the preceding year. It has been growing at a rate between 1.5 and 2 percent over the last several years, although that growth has slowed annually.
For context, Mexico’s entire population grew by 0.71 percent last year. In the US, the fastest-growing metro area last year was Ocala, Fla., with a 4 percent growth rate. The city of San Diego’s growth was 0.84 percent last year.
The worry is this: By the time that the projects underway on both sides of the border are finished, Tijuana will have grown so much that the new sewage treatment plants will no longer be able to handle the amount of sewage generated—which is, in part, how this problem arose in the first place.
The US International Wastewater and Boundary Commission (IBWC) is repairing its long failing infrastructure in a series of projects that, once completed, are expected to reduce the flow of sewage into the ocean by up to 90 percent.
The most important of the US projects centers on the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP). For $600-million, the IBWC will not only repair the plant’s myriad issues, but also double its treatment capacity from 25 million gallons per day (MGD) to 50 MGD average flow. It will have a peak flow capacity at 75 MGD.
Projections say the South Bay plant will take up to five years to complete. The project launched in Oct. 2024. However, Mexico recently completed its own wastewater treatment plant, which treats 18 MGD—a third of Mexico’s wastewater.
Zeldin also said that the solution that the US and Mexico have agreed to is “not a 100 percent solution” and that he hopes to convince its leaders to focus on completely eliminating the sewage.
He said he is eager to speak with Mexico and reach an agreement.
“If they’re only willing to agree to an 80 percent solution, well, we’re not there yet,” he said. “But (if we get to that point), we’re going to have to use other tactics to get a 100 percent solution, because the Americans on our side of the border are fed up.”
The IBWC announced last week that Mexico will begin work on its International Collector project. Mexico installed pumping and piping to mitigate sewage flows during this time, although during the first phase of the project, sewage was diverted into the Tijuana River and Coronado’s beaches closed shortly afterward.
