A three-speaker panel of local key officials spoke June 1, on the efforts to mitigate a binational sewage issue at the 2023 Annual Environmental Conference in San Diego.
City of Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, Executive Officer at San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board David Gibson and Area Operations Manager at International Boundary and Water Commission – United States Section Morgan Rogers presented to a group of over 50 environmental agency representatives.
They gave an overview of the transboundary pollution issue in the Tijuana River Valley, and environmental and community impacts and actions over the years.
Panelists highlighted that the main challenge is stretching an allocated $330 million from Congress and $144 million from Mexico that’s expected to fund wastewater infrastructure projects they said was an “unrealistically low” amount.
A Coronado News investigation earlier this year found the Tijuana sewage problem stems from a nearly century-long legacy of broken promises by both countries resulting in a public health crisis that has exposed beachgoers, U.S. Border Patrol agents and U.S. Navy SEALS to a myriad of diseases from the fecal-exposed Pacific Ocean.
During the Memorial Day weekend, a group of protesters in Coronado held a “Stop the Sewage” press conference to raise awareness that the issue that has closed that city’s beaches and hampered the economy.
State of Emergency
Aguirre at the conference shared that the City of Imperial Beach is looking to declare a State of Emergency through an official letter and she has asked San Diego County mayors to send a “sign-on letter” to the White House. In addition, a letter writing blitz to President Biden from children in Imperial Beach is in the works.
Beyond the dollar figure, a successful expansion of the wastewater treatment plant at the border may be able to treat up to 60 million gallons per day, according to Rogers. Currently, the plant near San Ysidro treats about 25 million gallons a day.
Rogers said that failing pump stations cause additional flow at the international wastewater treatment plant that lead to additional transboundary flows. For this reason, pump stations rehabilitation in Mexico, including PBCILA and PB1, is crucial for the infrastructure, he said.
Rogers also said the International Collector, which catches rubbish before it hits the sewage plant and has been certified in Tijuana, is set to begin rehabilitation work this summer.
And the funded San Antonio de los Buenos treatment plant is supposed to start construction between 2024 and 2026.
Price tag for total repair: Up to $1 billion
In discussion with the audience during questions, the panel concluded that total costs to fix the sewage crisis range from $700 million to $1 billion.
Gibson considers the solution is very clear and believes there’s no disagreement between the United States and Mexico as to what components they need to implement together, he told The Coronado News.
“What is lacking is the funding.”
-Executive Officer at San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board David Gibson
“What is lacking is the funding … we should get away from the blame Mexico argument and focus on getting things done in both countries,” said Gibson.
He noted that bi-national agreements called Minute 320 and Minute 328 “give us the architecture to build the floors of a shared building on water quality and mutual beneficial use protection.”
During his presentation, Gibson shared that the issue is more than beach closures and referenced the 55 listed impairment conditions under the 2020 Clean Water Act section 303(d) List, such as indicator bacteria, ammonia, solids and sedimentation.
Closed 517 days
According to Gibson, the Border Field State Park, south of Imperial Beach, has been closed 517 consecutive days as of June 1, 2023.
“There’s been continuous sewage flows that have resulted in excessive bacterial indicators all those days,” said Gibson.
Gibson said this is due to San Antonio de los Buenos discharging between 35 and 60 million gallons of raw sewage from metropolitan Tijuana in the coastal area that heads north all the way to Coronado.
“If we can keep Mexico on track with their upgrade to San Antonio de Los Buenos, that will be really, really excellent for coastal water quality,” said Gibson. “That’s a key part of our strategy.”
Tijuana River Valley timeline
Gibson also provided a Tijuana River Valley history timeline, recovery team efforts, Water Board actions, and hopeful expectations for the future.
“We have a chance now to make a difference for both countries.”
-David Gibson
“My strong pitch to you and decision makers is that we have a chance now to make a generational change, not a half measure, and we have a chance now to make a difference for both countries,” Gibson told the audience.
Aguirre shared her constant work to ensure that Mexico moves funds to the appropriate agencies in a timely manner to pay for its share of the repairs.
Aguirre commended Mexico’s ability to build in short timelines regarding the two sewage treatment plants on the east side of Tijuana, built in 2 ½ years, she said.
Green bonds
Earlier in the panel, Aguirre spoke about her meeting with Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar where she learned that “they have created green bonds, which will allow a private public partnership to be able to supplement some of the needed funding for some of these infrastructure improvements.”
Aguirre said 20 and 30% of private investments will happen through the green bonds, and considers that efficient rehabilitation efforts at San Antonio de los Buenos will reduce beach closures anywhere from 80 to 90%.
Aguirre said $430 million would be the required additional funding amount and acknowledged that the timeline extends beyond 2028 up to 2030.
During the panel, Aguirre made mention of Imperial Beach and the South Bay communities’ high minority demographics.
She said that Imperial Beach has had to cancel their junior guard program, which is usually a pipeline for lifeguards. Additionally, a Scripps Institution of Oceanography study has found traces of pathogens, chemicals, viruses and bacteria in aerosolized form, she said.
““At the end of the day, we are experiencing the hardships and the negative impacts of all of our pollution.”
-Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre
“At the end of the day, we are experiencing the hardships and the negative impacts of all of our pollution,” Aguirre said in an interview.
South Bay Letter Writing Campaign
As of June 1, the City of Imperial Beach drafted the letter to the White House asking for a state of emergency, approved during an Imperial Beach City Council Meeting in May.
This effort may secure quick avenues for additional funding required for projects that may reverse beach closures, she said.
According to Aguirre, the City of Imperial Beach and regional letters to the White House will be sent this month.
“I’m trying to shoot for a couple weeks so that we can get as many mayors as possible signed on and then send it in as well,” said Aguirre.
Council Member (District 2) Jack Fisher proposed in May that the city reach out to South Bay Union School District for a letter writing campaign to the White House in order to reach the president.
“I met with the Superintendent Jose Espinoza for South Bay Union School District, and my colleague Jack Fisher has been collecting some of the letters at the farmer’s market,” said Aguirre. “We need all hands on deck. … including our youth, because they’re the ones that are being affected the most.”
According to the city and district, the letter writing campaign will also take place during a summer session and teachers will take the lead in the campaign.
“We’re going to try and get some letters done this last week of school, and then we’re going to do a more intense campaign the next school period,” said Aguirre. “I want us to collect as many as possible and from their own personal voices and points of views, how they are personally affected by this crisis.”
Coronado protests sewage issue
In Coronado, during Memorial Day Weekend, a protest organized by Stop the Sewage, gathered over 50 folks, according to media reports.
The protest took place at Central Beach in Coronado around noon on May 27, following the decades-long sewage issue that has closed beaches on the southern pacific coastline extending from Imperial Beach to Coronado.
Planning for additional protests this summer, Stop the Sewage will continue to seek the Declaration of a Public Health Emergency.
“As the public expressed its concern and outrage, which we share, at Coronado over the Memorial Day weekend, unfortunately it doesn’t look as though the solutions that we propose can be implemented in a swift enough time to interrupt those [beach closures] and prevent the repetition of last summer where most of the time Coronado was closed,” Gibson said.
