The International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) reports that the Tijuana River has remained at a steady flow rate between the recent rains and is currently at 98 million gallons per day (MGD).
According to the USIBWC, total transboundary flow volumes in February 2024 were 12.5 billion gallons, with January 2024 recording 6.6 billion gallons, indicating that a total of 19.1 billion gallons have been recorded so far in 2024.
The composition of these flows is approximately 95% stormwater, the USIBWC reports.
The USIBWC also confirmed that Mexican pump station PBCILA remains offline during the wet weather flows, while Mexican pump station PB1 remains operating at below capacity.
The USIBWC expects that both pipelines and pump stations will be back in full operation in March 2024, at which point a reduction in transboundary flows in the Tijuana River is expected.
The South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) continues with repairs and rehabilitation work, with the average flow rate into the SBIWTP for February being 25.54 MGD, which is just above the permit and design limits of 25 MGD.
The USIBWC reports that the primary source of sediment is from the highway construction project in Mexico by SEDENA.
SEDENA has agreed to install temporary erosion control measures during construction.
In addition, the USIBWC is in the process of planning the cleanup of a significant volume of trash that has accumulated at the north levee adjacent to Dairy Mart Road from the recent rainfall.
The cleanup operation is expected to begin in late March 2024, once the area has dried out enough to support heavy equipment.
This story was generated with assistance from AI and was reviewed by a member of our publication.
