Reported by MacKenzie Elmer and Vicente Calderón
The Tijuana River sewage crisis has been raging for decades. It’s one of the most pressing environmental emergencies in the region. Southern California beaches are forced to close regularly due to pollution from the river, and Tijuana residents suffer the consequences of poor sewage and water infrastructure that puts their health at risk.
The U.S. and Mexico have a long history with this crisis that ultimately belongs to both countries. Our reporting series aims to reveal the root problems, possible solutions and the impact on the region’s land and people.
Our Stories
Environment Report: US Steps up Watchdog Role Over Tijuana Sewage System
The IBWC will begin monthly inspections of a key wastewater pump that keeps sewage from spilling into the Tijuana River, among other collaborations.
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Border Sewage Plant Leader ‘Reevaluating’ Censored Records
Look familiar? We pulled this post from the Morning Report. Subscribe to the daily newsletter here to get all our updates in your inbox. The public may soon have more clarity on what exactly is wrong with a broken sewage treatment plant along the U.S.-Mexico border. President Joe Biden’s pick to care for the South…
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Broken Border Sewage Plant Gets Its Fix
Congress agreed to send more money to fix a broken wastewater treatment plant in San Diego along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Dems to Issa: Are You In or Out on Border Sewage Fix?
California Rep. Darrell Issa has been questioning how the International Boundary and Water Commission allowed the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment plant to fall into such disrepair.
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Environment Report: Biden’s Border Pick Tries to Bring Her House in Order
A letter from the IBWC’s leader reveals some issues working with its contractor that operates and maintains the plant.
Keep readingFeds Won’t Tell Public What’s Wrong with Its Border Sewage Plant
Voice of San Diego had to sue to get public records that are supposed to show what’s wrong with the South Bay plant.
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Mexican Military Takes Over Broken Tijuana Sewage Plant Rehab
The fate of San Diego’s summer beach closures now rests in the hands of the Mexican military’s ability to rebuild a broken wastewater treatment plant in Tijuana.
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Newsom Won’t Explain Why Tijuana River Isn’t an Emergency
Recent research suggests governors and presidents have wide discretion under the Stafford Act to send federal aid.
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Biden Administration Is Building a U.S.-Mexico Border Wall that Could Worsen Flooding in Both Nations
Documents show that two federal agencies have been at odds over the border wall project across the Tijuana River Valley since it was first announced in August of 2020.
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Pipe Blows Again in Tijuana, Sewage Spills into San Diego
Construction workers in Tijuana accidentally blew a hole in a major pipe transporting the city’s sewage to a wastewater plant along the coast last Friday. That means, once again, untreated sewage has been flowing into San Diego. While that wastewater plant, called San Antonio de los Buenos, is actually broken anyway, the rupture forced Tijuana…
Keep readingOfficials Fear Nightmare Flooding from New Tijuana River Border Wall
A lifting gate structure could impede the Tijuana River’s flow if it fails to rise during heavy rains like San Diego just experienced.
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Newsom Vetoes $100 Million for Tijuana and New Rivers
Gov. Gavin Newsom this month vetoed a bill that would have sent $100 million to the state water resources, half of which would have gone toward cleaning up the pollution-blighted Tijuana River.
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Amid Drought, Tijuana Is Paying California for Colorado River Water
The amount of emergency water Tijuana requested this year from California is a lot more than they requested in the past five.
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Lots of Tijuana’s Sewage Is Crossing the Border Right Now. Here’s Why.
A repair gone wrong sent sewage that would normally flow to the troubled Punta Bandera plant and be pumped far out to sea spilling instead into the Tijuana River and threatening beaches on the U.S. side.
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The Science Behind San Diego’s New Beach Water Quality Test
Today we’ll unpack the science behind a brand-new technology to measure water quality. San Diego is first in the world to use it, and it’s already sparked controversy. The more sensitive test shows there’s more poo plaguing San Diego’s southernmost beaches than we could ever tell before — especially in summer when coastal cities like…
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Vargas, Jacobs Try New Route to Spend $300 Million on Tijuana Pollution Fix
Without a legislative fix, most of $300 million worth of projects to clean-up the polluted Tijuana River and Southern California beaches cannot be spent.
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San Diego 101: Know the Basics
San Diego 101 is a multimedia series from VOSD made to educate San Diegans about some of the most important issues that shape our region. These videos explain the basics of U.S.-Mexico border relations.
Thank You
This series is produced by Voice of San Diego in partnership with the Tijuanapress.com and with support from The Water Desk at the University of Colorado Boulder and The Pulitzer Center. Our binational, bilingual reporting and photojournalism series illuminates longstanding environmental issues that severely impact quality of life along the border.