Tropical Storm Hilary left a softer-than-anticipated mark in most parts of San Diego County, but that is not the case near the international border.
The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), the federal agency that operates the sewage treatment plant just north of the U.S. Mexico border, said more than 2 billion gallons of contaminated water flowed across the border during and after the storm.
Days after the storm, polluted water continues to flow through the Tijuana River channel and into the United States. Those stormwater flows eventually find their way to the ocean.
“That brought in a lot of extra wastewater, as well as a lot of extra trash,” said Morgan Rogers, the engineer who is the IBWC regional manager at the sewage plant. “It did cause some problems with some of our pumps.”
Rogers said crews worked during the storm to keep trash from clogging the flow of water into the plant, but at one point those flows just became too large.
“We have equalization tanks to store some flow during the surges but they were getting close to overflowing,” Morgan said. “And we actually bypassed our secondary treatment for a period of about 10 hours.”
State water quality officials say they will likely issue clean water act violations, but the state’s authority is limited.
The state cannot fine a federal agency for violating a discharge permit, which sets guidelines for what the federal government can and cannot do at the sewage plant.
San Diego Regional Water Quality Control officials also cannot punish the federal government for polluted flows that enter the United States through the Tijuana River channel.
It is a frustrating situation for local officials.
“We simply have to get that water out of the river and into a treatment plant,” said David Gibson, the executive director of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board. “And into beneficial reuse if practicable, but discharged three miles off shore and in compliance with the clean water act if nothing else.”
Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre has intensified calls recently for California Governor Gavin Newsom and the Biden Administration to declare states of emergency because of the persistent cross-border flows. That could free up state and federal funding to work toward a solution.
The governor’s office is in regular contact with local officials, his staff was briefed by water quality officials on Tuesday. And both the state and federal governments appear sympathetic, but neither has taken the requested action.
The Environmental Protection Agency has developed a $630 million plan to more than double the capacity of the international wastewater treatment plant, add some water capture systems and improve the wastewater system in Tijuana.
But the plan is only partially funded and local officials were flummoxed to learn recently that the existing sewage treatment plant near the border needs $150 million dollars in repairs.
Meanwhile, as water contact warnings are lifted at most of the county’s beaches, sewage contamination remains a concern along the south county shore.
Regional Water Quality Control officials say the beach near the mouth of the Tijuana River, just north of the border, has been posted as unsafe for human contact for 623 consecutive days as of Wednesday.
