Affluence v Effluent: Tijuana’s Septic Assault on San Diego

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There’s been a growing border crisis for decades that has, again in the past few years, coinciding with the Biden administration term, taken on frightening proportions.

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Once again, it has to do with Mexico, but only indirectly with physical Mexicans crossing the border.

It’s a direct result of what they’ve flushed and failed to dispose of properly, thanks to neglected infrastructure and whatever else the excuse.

Personally, I’m betting they figured if the Americans ever got tired enough of it, we’d take care of it.

They were pretty close.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that the state had secured millions in additional funds to address the ongoing Tijuana River sewage crisis that has polluted the coast in San Diego County.

The governor said President Biden had signed a federal funding bill allocating $250 million to repair and expand an exiting wastewater treatment plant in San Diego, one of two facilities that lack capacity to treat billions of gallons of sewage and industrial wastewater that flows from the Tijuana River.

…Imperial Beach officials said the stench and contaminated beaches has caused tourism to decline from 2.1 million visitors in 2018 to less than 700,000 in 2023. Last month, the Chula Vista City Council issued a local state of emergency due to the crisis.

The California Coastal Commission said the wastewater treatment infrastructure on both sides of the border has been deteriorating and can’t adequately collect and treat the roughly 35 billion to 70 billion gallons of sewage and wastewater that flows annually from the city of Tijuana.

See how their thinking went? The wastewater facilities ‘on both sides’ can’t ‘adequately treat the 70 BILLION gals’ annually ‘FROM TIJUANA.’

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So, not California poopie but their problem anyway? 

Yeah. If you look at a map, the areas I circled in pink show you how close the two cities are. 

Affluence v Effluent: Tijuana's Septic Assault on San Diego 1

They are literally cheek by jowl. The yellow circle is a massive marshy slough called the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, where the Tijuana River finally dumps into the Pacific Ocean after running through the literal heart of downtown Tijuana, Mexico.

Right now – and for years previously – it is acting as an open sewer for the city and the Mexican government.

Five days ago, the Mexican government announced they ‘had‘ to dump an additional – ADDITIONAL (!) – five million gallons a day of raw sewage into the river. ‘For now,’ they said.

They anticipated needing five days to repair a ‘critical junction box.’

SORRY, NOT SORRY

With that additional effluent making its way across the border into the estuary and, eventually, into the ocean, people in San Diego were fit to be tied but powerless.

All they can do is scream bloody murder and stay out of the water.

The second smaller pink circle within the San Diego sphere is the island of Coronado, where the Navy SEALS train and next to where North Island Naval Air Station is located.

The poo water from Mexico flows up the coast and smack dab into those outreaching fingers and bays.

It turns out that maybe those SEALS weren’t sandbagging a stomachache to get out of dragging phonepoles through the sand after all. Someone finally thought to connect the crap in the water to the upset guts in guys who gulp an awful lot of it down.

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For years, Navy SEALs have trained in sewage-contaminated water, but exactly how it’s impacted the health of members have remained unknown, until now.

A report from the Inspector General published a study that looked more closely at the water bacteria levels in the water. The findings in the report confirmed the high levels of bacteria in the water have exposed Navy SEALs to serious health risks during their training.

At the edge of the Navy SEAL compound in Cornell Shores, Joe Ditler said, “We see them in the ocean paddling frantically, racing from one end of the beach to the other, and then racing back.”

…For some time, there’s been concerns about the bacteria levels in the water due to sewage contamination. A report released this month by the inspector general earlier this month revealed 76 percent of its test came back with bacteria surpassing safety levels.

More than eleven hundred cases of health issues among Navy SEALs were reported after training in the polluted water, including acute Gastrointestinal illnesses, such as nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.

They recommended the SEALs adjust their training schedule to suit the crappy water, as if they were a corporate organization who had open days to play with.

…“It’s just a shame that everything else they’re doing is being compounded now by the dirty water and all the bacteria and the things that are coming out of the Tijuana River and up the coast from Mexico,” Ditler said.

The stench of Tijuana’s noxious water had reached such intolerable heights that the state of California was handing out air purifiers to area residents as of last fall.

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Rain is coming in south San Diego, which means higher water levels in the polluted Tijuana River — and, potentially, even worse air quality.

Now, residents worry that the home air filters newly provided by San Diego County won’t be enough to curb the noxious air from the rising river.

…Other federal agencies are also investigating the health concerns of nearby residents who have been suffering respiratory illnesses and unexplained stomach bugs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention arrived last month to conduct a health survey. Local officials and more than 500 residents have signed a petition asking the Environmental Protection Agency to declare the river a Superfund site and look into the presence of hazardous waste in the riverbed.

…For its part, the county Board of Supervisors voted last month to purchase $2.7 million worth of air purifiers for residents, with the money ultimately coming from the California Air Resources Board.

The Times of San Diego went after the Biden administration for sitting on their hands, as well as Governor Gavin Newsom. They urged the wealthy enclave of Coronado to extend their emergency declaration in hopes it would force action from…well…someone. 

Money usually talks, especially when it’s really pissed off.

Coronado should use its clout to bring attention to the Tijuana River sewage crisis

…The pollution continues to head north and is now impacting the affluent Coronado community, a well-known and coveted vacation destination. Coronado leaders should use their elected powers to help force state and federal agencies to act by declaring an additional 60 days in the state of emergency.

The continued negligence surrounding this issue has resulted in beach and business closures, pollutants in the community’s air and water, and a growing lack of faith in the government. Utilizing the prestige and resources of the city of Coronado would draw more attention to the sewage crisis and thus encourage real action toward resolution.

…The crisis has received little attention outside of San Diego County. Both Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Biden refused to declare it an emergency. The San Diego City Council first declared a local emergency in 1993 and has been consistently extending it. Unfortunately, the sewage crisis continues to worsen, leading not only to increased health issues for San Diego residents, but also to the destruction of marine life, economic hardship for local businesses, and reduced access to outdoor activities.

This means that over three decades, a prolonged state of emergency has produced no results. That is why the San Diego City Council sought to upgrade their declaration to a national emergency in October 2024. Only within the last two years have other local entities started issuing emergency declarations. These include Imperial Beach, Chula Vista, San Diego County and the Port of San Diego.

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But it could be that times are finally changing.

And the Mexicans would be wise to pay attention to who is listening to San Diego now.

There’s a new administration in town with guys that don’t mess around. EPA director Lee Zeldin is one of those guys and Mexico is already on their naughty list.

…Currently, Aguirre is pushing to designate the Tijuana River Valley as a Superfund Site, which would allow the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, to clean up hazardous waste and unlock federal funds. The request was denied under the Biden Administration, but President Trump’s EPA Administrator, Lee Zeldin, said he would reconsider.

“I sent him a letter, I asked him to come down, and a few days later, he tweeted that this is unacceptable, this situation is unacceptable,” Aguirre said.

When Aguirre pushed again and sent Zeldin another letter, the EPA shut her down, saying they were already doing everything possible.

…Then, last week, Aguirre announced a major shift. Zeldin said he will “ramp up” federal efforts to tackle the crisis and plans to visit the area soon.

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…Mexico has further communicated that they are working to complete their international collector repair by this weekend. I look forward to personally visiting this area of the border in just under two weeks. Decades of raw sewage entering the USA needs to PERMANENTLY END once and for all!

And Tijuana River pollution making life unbearable for San Diegans isn’t just on Zeldin’s radar – the Boss is talking about what Mexico’s been doing publicly.

That always bodes badly for whoever is in the crosshairs.

Although I have to say…

…it looks like all the attention has lit a fire under the Mexicans already.

Oh, it’s not going to be business as usual, guaranteed.

Mexico better learn fast to keep that…stuff…to themselves, because sometimes? 

It can flow uphill.

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