The United States Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission awarded a five-year, $1.9 million contract to EGC-AGEISS, a joint venture of two San Antonio, Texas-based environmental engineering firms, to collect water, sediment and garbage samples in Tijuana. River and adjacent canyons along the US-Mexico border to determine the effect of decades of transboundary flows of raw sewage on the US side of the Tijuana River Valley and ultimately into the Pacific Ocean.
The sampling program was developed with input from the regulatory community and the Minute 320 Water Quality Working Group, which was created by the Mexican and U.S. sides of the commission to address the issues current with sewage overflows. The US commission said the purpose of the testing program is to characterize transboundary flows and develop a continuous repository of water and sediment quality data. This data can be used to plan future projects to mitigate the effects of pollution or make safety recommendations to residents and property owners.
“I’m glad to see the USIBWC implement long-overdue water quality testing in the Tijuana River Valley. This public health and environmental disaster has gone on too long,” said US Rep. Mike Levin, who represents the nearby beach community of Oceanside. “Information gathered from these tests will provide a more detailed understanding of the issues affecting the Tijuana River. Valley, help track the progress of cleanup efforts and help us advocate for more federal resources.”
The commission also said the study will satisfy the requirement to develop and implement a Tijuana River Valley Monitoring Program (TRVMP) as described in the permit issued by the Regional Water Quality Control Board of San Diego for the commission-operated South Bay wastewater treatment plant.
“This monitoring program fulfills the commitment we made under the Board’s calendar order issued in 2023,” said Maria-Elena Giner, commissioner of the US commission. “Combined with $31 million in plant repairs, the $600 million expansion we will begin soon, our monitoring of Mexico’s commitment to the Minute 328 projects, and taking urgent action to ensure cross-border flows zero during the dry season, the IBWC is taking concrete steps toward pollution prevention in the South Bay area.”
However, local leaders are taking parallel actions that include staff from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention interviewing local residents about any ailments such as headaches or illnesses they have suffered as a result of the flows of ‘dirty sewage that kept beaches in communities such as Imperial Beach closed for more than 1,000 days. San Diego County and the CDC are partnering to complete a survey called the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response.
“Today [October 17] through Saturday, staff and volunteers will interview people living in 210 randomly selected households from a larger sample of 30 housing blocks. Interviewers will choose seven households from each block to be surveyed,” said Fernanda Lopez Halverson, county spokeswoman, of the CASPER survey.
The County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency in May 2024, which remains in effect. At a public forum about the upcoming county election, County Superintendent Nora Vargas even said that the evacuation of the entire Tijuana River Valley may one day be necessary due to sewage flows.
“We’re not at that point right now, but I want to make sure we’re ready if and when it happens,” Vargas said during a panel on whether the government could fix the wastewater crisis.
More litigation
Meanwhile, Imperial Beach residents filed a second class-action lawsuit against Veolia Water, Inc., and its parent company, engineer Veolia North America, on Oct. 15. Veolia Water is contracted to the South Bay Wastewater Plant as an engineering consultant. the commission
“Residents of Imperial Beach have been suffering the consequences of polluted water for too long. This lawsuit aims to secure justice for the community and hold those responsible accountable for their reckless disregard for public health and environmental safety,” said Brett Schreiber, a partner at Singleton Schreiber who represents residents of the Imperial Beach.” This is not just an environmental issue, but a public health emergency. Families here have been exposed to dangerous chemicals for years without adequate action by the responsible parties.”
The cities of Imperial Beach and Chula Vista, along with the San Diego Port Commission, previously sued Veolia and the border commission for civil penalties, and another group of Imperial Beach residents. filed a similar class action lawsuit against Veolia on September 9. The two firms representing the residents said they would add the border commission as a defendant in their lawsuits after the waiting period for filing a lawsuit against a federal agency expires.
“We are currently reviewing this complaint but we can already state that these allegations are unfounded. Veolia North America has done everything possible to help operate the South Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant in the face of increasingly difficult circumstances,” said Adam Lisberg, Municipal Water’s senior vice president of communications, in a statement “The overwhelming cause of the odors and pollution affecting Imperial Beach is excessive and uncontrolled sewage flows from Tijuana, much of which does not even enter the South Bay plant.”
Lisberg added that in the past 15 years, Tijuana’s population has grown by nearly 30 percent and the city’s infrastructure has not kept pace. Veolia North America said the plant in question was not built to withstand these conditions and that uncontrolled sewage flows and damage from sludge and debris have overwhelmed the plant’s capacity and affected its performance.
“This situation must be improved by stronger cross-border collaboration and comprehensive problem solving at the local, state and federal levels,” Lisberg said.
