Views of the Tijuana River Valley

This photo montage (top) and aerial photo (below, from the EPA website) show the location of the International Wastewater Treatment Plant and city of San Diego facilities. These buildings are located in the most southern edge of Tijuana River Valley. A third photo shows a canyon collection system constructed to divert sewage out of the river to the IWTP.

The first photo is looking east, and was taken from near the border fence on a mesa west of the various water treatment and water reclamation plants now under construction.

A) Tijuana River  B) City of San Diego Water Reclamation Facility (under construction) C) Proposed location of treatment ponds	D) International Wastewater Treatment Plant (IWTP) E) Border fence, with second fence about 100 yards to the north (left) F) Tijuana

The homes nearest these facilities are across the border fence, in Tijuana. However, this neighborhood is already impacted by a major source of odors: Pump Station 1, the main sewage pumping facility in Tijuana. This station transfers over 30 million gallons of raw sewage every day. 25 MGD is sent north to the IWTP, and the rest is sent south, to Tijuana's treatment facility 6 miles south of the city. It is unlikely odors from secondary level treatment ponds would be worse than the odors from raw sewage in this facility.

A housing development is under construction in the United States, northeast of the IWTP. These homes are over a mile away from the treatment plant, and several studies have determined that under normal circumstances, odors will not effect the residents. In terms of visual impacts, the tall buildings at the IWTP and the city of San Diego reclamation facility create more obstacles to  views than ground-level treatment ponds. If landscaping is constructed around the ponds they will not be visible at all.

Aerial view: A) Tijuana River  B) Site of City of San Diego Water Reclamation Facility (not yet under construction) C) Proposed location of  treatment ponds (Hofer site) D) International Wastewater Treatment Plant (IWTP) E) Primary border fence, with second fence about 100 yards to the north (right) F) Tijuana, near Pump Station 1 G) Playas de Tijuana, Pacific Ocean H) Border Field State Park (US)

This is one of the diversion drains constructed in canyons in the United States. This one is located southwest of the IWTP. The canyon channels water from Mexico, and leads north into the river valley. The corrugated metal fence in the background is the international border. The trees on the hillside in the distance are near the Playas de Tijuana neighborhood. This drain is designed to intercept raw sewage during wet-weather flows, or when the Tijuana main sewage conveyance pipeline breaks or leaks, before it can enter the Tijuana River. The sewage is then redirected to the IWTP for treatment.  There are similar interceptors constructed in the Tijuana River in Mexico.  The worst problem with these diversion drains has been clogging from sediments, rocks and trash. On several occasions, during heavy rains or pipeline breaks, these drains have quickly become blocked and sewage has entered the river.

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