{"id":835211,"date":"2026-09-03T16:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T16:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/835211\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T16:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T16:10:10","slug":"san-diego-approves-new-sewage-system-as-tijuana-river-crisis-worsens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/835211\/","title":{"rendered":"San Diego approves new sewage system as Tijuana River crisis worsens"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Diego is done waiting for Mexico to fix its sewage nightmare<\/a>.<\/p>\n

County supervisors voted this week to pursue a new sewage treatment system on the US side of the border, aiming to stop polluted water from the Tijuana River<\/a> before it reaches San Diego communities and beaches.<\/p>\n

The plan, spearheaded by Supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Terra Lawson-Remer, would be developed in three phases, with the county spending $1.8 million to study potential treatment systems over the next year and a half.<\/p>\n

San Diego is done waiting for Mexico to fix its sewage nightmare. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

County supervisors voted this week to pursue a new sewage treatment system on the US side of the border, aiming to stop polluted water from the Tijuana River before it reaches San Diego communities and beaches. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The plan, spearheaded by Supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Terra Lawson-Remer, would be developed in three phases, with the county spending $1.8 million to study potential treatment systems over the next year and a half. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll keep working with Washington and Mexico, but we will set the pace and we won\u2019t wait on anyone else\u2019s timeline,\u201d Aguirre said of Tuesday\u2019s vote.<\/p>\n

The need is painfully visible \u2014 and sometimes downright nauseating.<\/p>\n

Millions of gallons of sewage-contaminated water can pour across the border, foul the Tijuana River and ultimately wash into the Pacific. Beach closures have reached as far north as Coronado<\/a>, one of San Diego\u2019s most popular seaside destinations.<\/p>\n

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Video posted by TV personality Chef Andrew Gruel previously showed murky yellow-green water washing<\/a> onto Coronado\u2019s normally packed summer beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Coronado currently,\u201d it read. \u201cHigh tourist season. High heat of summer. No beach access.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pollution isn\u2019t just an eyesore. Researchers have found that sewage-related contaminants can become airborne, while hydrogen sulfide \u2014 the gas notorious for its rotten-egg smell \u2014 has reached 4,500 times higher than typical urban levels near one South Bay hotspot.<\/p>\n

San Diego County is giving residents free air purifiers because of the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis. The distribution comes as the government hands out air filters so people can breathe in their own homes. X\/@ChefGruel<\/p>\n

County officials have even offered eligible households free air purifiers to help residents deal with odors and reduce exposure to the gas, according to NBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new system would provide another line of defense after existing treatment and diversion infrastructure fails to capture everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 60 years, that is the gap that has no solution: the U.S. side of the Tijuana River is not treated at all,\u201d Aguirre and Lawson-Remer said in a county board letter.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOnce sewage and toxic runoff are in the river, nothing protects our coastlines and communities from the impacts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supervisor Joel Anderson cast the lone vote against the plan, warning the project could become a multibillion-dollar undertaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat could lead to billions,\u201d he said. \u201cThe county just doesn\u2019t have that kind of money. And it shouldn\u2019t be the county\u2019s responsibility. The state and the feds and everybody else should be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

The South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. Google Maps<\/p>\n

Supervisor Jim Desmond agreed that Mexico ultimately needs to solve the problem, saying he wants to \u201csee Mexico stand up and fix this issue,\u201d but added that San Diego should \u201cat least plan for the worst-case scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aguirre, whose district includes communities impacted by the pollution, said residents have heard promises for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 60 years of promises regarding the issue, the skepticism in my community is not just understandable, it has been earned,\u201d NBC reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lawson-Remer put it more bluntly: \u201cThe time has come to end this environmental injustice.\u201d<\/p>\n

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