Mexico’s dilapidated wastewater treatment plant at Punta Bandera has finally been restored and is up and running, according to Coronado Mayor John Duncan, yet Mexico is still diverting untreated wastewater into the Tijuana River due to a faulty junction box at the International Collector.
Following a trip to Washington, D.C., on April 7 and 8, Duncan met with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials to discuss current and future projects regarding the Tijuana Sewage crisis.
Mexico started rehabilitation work on the San Antonio de los Buenos plant at Punta Bandera over a year ago, after it had fallen into such disrepair it was no longer treating sewage. Mexico predicted completion by September 2024, but repairs took longer than planned. However, Duncan said the upgraded plant has been at full capacity since April 1.
There is still around 40 to 45 million gallons of raw sewage per day running through San Antonio de los Buenos. Even with its repairs, Duncan said, it is capable of treating only about 18 million gallons.
The plant was being rehabilitated by the Mexican government and the state of Baja California, but the IBWC had been involved in coordinating efforts between the U.S. and Mexico.
With this important repair completed, there are still major issues with sewage.
The IBWC noted on April 9 that Mexico started discharging around 5 MGD of wastewater into the Tijuana River the night before and would continue to do so for the next five days while repairing a junction box that is part of the International Collector.
“(Mexico) told us this was a difficult decision and spent days looking at other alternatives,” said IBWC Commissioner Dr. Maria Elena Giner in a release. “In the end … they had exhausted all other options and found a path to mitigate the amount of flow to the river from a potential of about 25 MGD to 5 MGD.”
Giner explained that the junction box needed to be dry so that it could be rebuilt with reinforced concrete, requiring diverting the flow to the river and the Mexican coast.
She said this issue traces back to early March when Mexico found two unknown lines sending flows into the International Collector. One of the flows was stopped, but officials have yet to identify the source of the second flow.
Giner said on April 11 that Mexico turned on one pump of their PBCILA lift station, which should help remove some wastewater flowing into the river.
The International Collector project in Tijuana consists of relining a major aging sewage pipeline and connecting it to a new pipeline that should reduce the risks of leaks and transboundary flows, according to Giner.
