The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on June 30 published its second quarterly public update this year after agreements signed with Mexico in 2025 to permanently end the years-long Tijuana River sewage crisis.
For decades, sewage from Mexico via the Tijuana River channel and the coast has contaminated San Diego beaches, giving rise to malodors and sickening Navy SEALs training in Coronado.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin visited San Diego last April for a tour of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, a roundtable discussion with community leaders, a helicopter tour of the U.S. Southern border and a meeting with Navy SEALs.
After this visit, the EPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Secretary of the Environment and National Resources of Mexico Alicia Bárcena Ibarra in Mexico City on July 24.
Last December, the U.S. and Mexico agreed to Minute 333 including additional projects, research, and planning for operation and maintenance of critical systems to account for future population growth in Tijuana.
The EPA said the MOU requires both nations to issue clear, coordinated, and at least quarterly updates to the public.
In its June 30 quarterly update, the EPA outlined advances to projects, studies, and operation and maintenance plans of critical sites and systems that will account for future population growth in Tijuana, as agreed to in Minute 333.
“We’re continuing our relentless pace in ensuring that Mexico meets its funding commitments, that projects are being built on the tightest possible timelines, and that actions are being taken to plan for future population growth in the region,” said Administrator Lee Zeldin in a statement. “Safeguarding human health and the environment is EPA’s foremost responsibility, and we are committed to ensuring that every American has clean air, land and water.”
Progress on 2026-27 projects
A project slated for completion this August is the rehabilitation of the Parallel Gravity Line to prevent future ruptures and spills from entering the U.S. through canyons along the border.
This update comes after two separate sections collapsed, approximately two weeks apart, in mid-May and late-May.
“Both ruptures have been fully repaired,” said the update.
“Mexico is advancing procurement and construction of critical sewer line and pump station rehabilitations, which will prevent sewage discharges into the Tijuana River,” it continued.
The EPA said a binational Minute 333 work group is reviewing the ocean outfall at the San Antonio de los Buenos Wastewater Treatment Plant, analyzing the Tijuana water system and strengthening accountability with a binational monitoring system to track Tijuana River flow.
According to the EPA, the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission is advancing and keeping its expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) to increase treatment capacity to 50 MGD on schedule.
The commission has told the San Diego Water Board that expanded treatment capacity is targeted for 2030.
To learn more about EPA’s quarterly updates, visit: https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-water-infrastructure/usmca-tijuana-river-watershed-public-updates.
