$400 million awarded for plant that treats raw sewage from Mexico

SAN DIEGO ( Border Report ) — A $400 million contract has been awarded to refurbish the International Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Tijuana River Valley.

The formal announcement was made Thursday by U.S. Rep. Juan Vargas, D-California, and U.S. International Boundary and Water Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner.

According to IBWC, the project includes “essential rehabilitation of existing infrastructure and capacity expansion to double current treatment capacity of 25 million gallons per day (MGD) to reach 50 MGD average flow, with a peak hydraulic flow capacity of 75 MGD.”

“Something is finally getting done,” Vargas said emphatically. “The contract has been let and we’re moving forward.”

Vargas, who represents people who live along the Tijuana River Valley, said his office gets calls every day from constituents complaining about the smell generated by the raw sewage that comes in from Mexico on a daily basis.

It’s been so bad, the County of San Diego recently spent $100,000 on air purifiers for residents in the area.

A county spokesperson said 414 households were able to get one even though almost 3,500 residents signed up to get one.

“It’s been hell down here, that’s what it’s been,” Vargas said. “People get headaches, we get calls all day long, I agree, I’m here all the time, I smell it, and the truth is it smells like hell. I think there is a health risk, some people say there’s not, but I think there is.”

Vargas said anywhere from 40 to 50 million gallons of water tainted with untreated sewage is currently flowing into the U.S. from Tijuana on a daily basis.

“All the Mexican sewage that they have in Tijuana is going directly out into the ocean, they’re not treating it at all,” Vargas said.

He stated that while Mexican officials work to build a sewage treatment plant about 5 miles south of the border on the coast, raw sewage from Mexico will continue to flow into the ocean or into canyons where the effluent flows down hill to the U.S. side of the border.

When the sewage goes into the ocean, currents push it north of the border tainting beaches and the coastline in south San Diego County.

That facility in Baja is supposed to be done by the end of September.

Part of the long-term solution is to remodel the 24-year-old International Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Vargas and other officials said the facility became outdated years ago, and that it’s prone to breakdowns, unable to keep up with the amount of sewage coming in from Mexico.

“I’m glad to see the IBWC take this important step, which will allow them to put the more than $400 million my colleagues and I secured for the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant to work for repairs and upgrades to the plant,” Vargas said.

While there’s reason for optimism, Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre says the facility is not going to be built fast enough.

In a statement, Aguirre expressed her frustration with the “slow pace of the IBWC project,” emphasizing the urgent need for swift action.

“The situation is dire and demands immediate and decisive action,” she said. “The relentless pollution in our waters poses a serious and ongoing threat to public health and the environment. It is unacceptable that this issue continues to be overlooked by our state and federal officials.”

Aguirre worries the project could take up to seven years to get done, with two years set aside for design and five more for actual construction.

“It is inconceivable that we are expected to wait nearly a decade for clean water,” she said. “The traditional government procurement process is alarmingly slow and fails to address the critical wastewater infrastructure needs along our border. The community of Imperial Beach is deeply disappointed and frustrated by this news.”

Vargas himself said he is also worried about the expected pace of construction, but he told reporters the contract is “something positive.”

“We’re still upset, we don’t think it’s getting built fast enough, we all want it to go faster.”

But Vargas insists everything will get done within five years.

“It’s what they call ‘progress design built,’ so during the time they’re actually designing, they’re also going to be building it and that’s not why it’s not two plus five, it’s five altogether.”

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