People living and working near the polluted Tijuana River may have noticed more sewage flows and worsened sewer gas odors over the weekend.
The U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission, or IBWC, said that’s because a 10-mile pipeline in Tijuana, dubbed the Parallel Gravity Line, collapsed Friday night.
The line is supposed to transport wastewater to the San Antonio de los Buenos plant in Baja California, which is designed to divert flows from the Tijuana River by treating 18 million gallons per day before releasing them into the Pacific Ocean.
Instead, the raw flows have been entering the river. According to IBWC data, flows in the river spiked from 10 million gallons on Friday to 34 million gallons on Sunday.
It’s likely the jump in water pollution also pushed hydrogen sulfide levels above state and federal thresholds over the weekend, triggering air quality alerts from the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District. The alerts warn the public to limit their time outdoors and seek medical care if symptoms like asthma or other breathing issues worsen.
On Monday, the IBWC did not respond to an interview request. The agency acknowledged in a news release Sunday that residents near the river “may notice increased wastewater flows in the Tijuana River Channel along with stronger odors.”
The IBWC also said that the Parallel Gravity Line has ruptured twice over the past two weeks. That’s been frustrating for residents and environmental advocates pushing for solutions. Among them is Patrick McDonough, senior attorney for San Diego Coastkeeper.
“Unfortunately, we routinely receive email updates about ruptures or damage to infrastructure in the Tijuana wastewater system that leads to these high flows or spill events that then impacts the water in the estuary,” he said.
Repeated infrastructure failures are, in part, what has prompted Coastkeeper to file a complaint in January against Mexico with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, an organization established by Canada, Mexico and the U.S. that works to protect the North American environment.
McDonough said the organization has accepted its petition and is now seeking a response from Mexico by the end of July. He hopes that Mexico will release an analysis of the status of Tijuana’s wastewater system that it has already conducted.
“We just want the full, complete picture of what the status of the problem is, and also then how the Mexican federal government and its respective agencies could solve these issues,” he said.
Mexican officials said they expect emergency repairs to take several days.
