The House of Representatives and Senate recently approved their respective versions of the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA), which totals approximately $210 million in funding for San Diego County and the Tijuana River Valley watershed.
Earlier this year, $156 million in additional funding was secured for the United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) through an appropriations bill passed by Congress. But this fell short of President Biden’s $310 million request last October.
This additional funding is necessary to help offset a funding deficit for the rehabilitation and expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, said Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre.
The South Bay facility, built and operated by the United States, treats sewage effluent from Mexico. It is routinely overwhelmed in storm events, causing beach contamination and beach closures from Tijuana north to Coronado. Officials estimate the plant needs a total of at least $600 million in repairs and upgrades.
Every two years since 2014, Congress has passed a water resources measure with new funding. The House’s announcement was made on July 22. The Senate’s WRDA passage followed on Aug. 2.
This legislation authorizes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to improve the nation’s ports and harbors, inland waterway navigation, flood and storm protection, and other aspects of water resources infrastructure, according to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure website.
The Corps Public Affairs Office did not comment about the pending or proposed legislation. They said the House and Senate will confer to resolve differences in their versions of WRDA before it can be signed into law by President Biden.
The House bill authorizes 161 new feasibility studies for locally proposed projects and 12 projects that have been thoroughly reviewed by the corps and have culminated in a final report to Congress with approval by the chief of engineers or the director of civil works, according to the committee’s announcement.
The offices of Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Scott Peters said this would be new funding.
Peters, who represents Coronado, said $200 million can be used for fixes and upgrades at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant and for other purposes, such as countywide wastewater treatment.
“I’m committed to securing every eligible penny possible, as soon as possible, so that South Bay and Coronado residents, Customs and Border Patrol officers, and the Navy SEALS who train off Coronado no longer have to worry about the health risks posed by water polluted with untreated sewage,” said Peters in a written statement.
“Rep. Peters is committed to doing everything possible to make sure that any funding appropriated by Congress that could go to the cross-border sewage crisis will go to the cross-border sewage crisis,” wrote Kelly Davis, Peters’ press secretary, in an email. “It remains one of his top priorities.”
The Senate bill authorized $10 million for the Tijuana River Valley Watershed to help address the ongoing transboundary sewage crisis through stormwater conveyance, environmental restoration, and water quality protection projects, according to Padilla’s announcement this month.
“California communities are bearing the brunt of climate catastrophes, from toxic sewage jeopardizing public health…I look forward to working with my House and Senate colleagues to make sure these critical California priorities become law,” said Padilla.
The United States Section of the Boundary and Water Commission, which oversees wastewater treatment along the border, expressed appreciation for efforts from federal, state, and local partners to solve the transboundary flows originating in Tijuana.
“We are making repairs to our South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant and planning for its expansion as we actively monitor Mexico’s wastewater infrastructure improvements,” said Commissioner Maria Elena Giner in a statement. “I am committed to doing all I can to help eliminate the transboundary flows in the Tijuana River and canyons currently impacting so many communities.”
