The U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission announced the rehabilitation of a non-functioning Junction Box 1 (JB-1), to improve control of the flow entering the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant.
On Sept. 30, federal, state and local stakeholders participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for the project at the plant in San Ysidro. In a release following the ceremony, the agency said it plans to achieve federal water quality standards on a “consistent basis” as early as next spring.
“We have been extremely busy making repairs to our plant to meet permit compliance and move forward on expansion plans,” U.S. Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner said in a statement.
At a cost of $5,793,110, this project features two new gates on an 8-foot-wide pipe that carries wastewater from Mexico to the plant on the U.S. side of the border. The agency said it awarded a contract to Veolia Water West Operating Services Inc. that will subcontract the work to other companies.
“Junction Box 1 is the front door of this treatment plant,” said David Gibson, executive officer of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. “This is an important day.”
JB-1, inoperable since 2021, is expected to control how much wastewater enters the treatment plant, thus preventing damage and shutdowns caused by flooding. That is particularly important during heavy rains, according to the agency.
“Our beaches should be open during the summer, all summer, next summer,” said Coronado Councilmember John Duncan. “That’s the goal. That’s what we expect to happen.”
Plan of attack
Giner said the commission is tackling the transboundary issue on four fronts including plant repairs, expansion work, monthly meetings monitoring Mexico’s progress and ensuring to cease transboundary flows during the dry season.
“I want to thank all of you for all of the support for IBWC,” Giner said at the press conference on Sept. 30. “Because of that, our budget has almost tripled and that is the funding that we need to ensure that the dignity of life and the public health is protected here in the region.”
Work on JB-1 follows an IBWC issuance in August of a $42.4 million design contract to rehabilitate and expand the plant to allow for a daily wastewater treatment capacity of 50 million gallons and up to 75 million gallons at peak flows.
According to the agency, it expects to issue early construction packages during the design phase to begin expansion work this year.
“Over the next year, two years, you’re going to see [a] massive amount of construction, so this is really the start of that,” Giner said.
