Secondary Treatment Options for the International Wastewater Treatment Plant

Construction schedule: In 1994, the IBWC began constructing the  International Wastewater Treatment Plant (IWTP) in the Tijuana River Valley. The project's spending cap was set at $239 million, which was adminstered via the US EPA, and the final plant was intended to be a secondary level facility.  However, all the funds were spent constructing the advanced primary phase.

In 1995, the city of San Diego, under contract to the federal government, began construction of the South Bay Ocean Outfall. The outfall's capacity is 333 MGD. It was completed in December 1998 and cost $200 million. It currently discharges 25 MGD of waste from the IWTP. It will also discharge treated wastewater from two other  facilities that belong to the city of San Diego, that will be constructed near the IWTP.

A water reclamation facility is now  under construction, and received a $17 million grant from the Border Environmental Cooperation Commission (BECC). Its total cost is $97 million.

City of San Diego Reclamation Facility under construction in foreground. IWTP is seen behind this site, to the right in this photograph

Public participation: In Spring of 1998, nearly 300 people from throughout San Diego county responded to the EPA's Supplemental Environmental Impact Study (SEIS) regarding secondary treatment options, including ponds. Most of their comments supported the construction of secondary level treatment ponds in the valley. They based this preference on lower costs to build and operate ponds, timeliness to construct, and higher water quality protection.

It is also believed these ponds will do a better job of removing the industrial wastes that are found in the sewage from Tijuana, which is one of the fastest growing and most industrialized cities along the US-Mexico border.

However, the construction of any secondary level facilities has been delayed indefinitely, since critics claim that treatment ponds do not belong in the river valley, near homes and developed areas. They are also concerned about odors, visual impacts and what they consider the "experimental nature" of a project of this scale (25 MGD).

Treatment ponds: While it's true that most existing ponding-type treatment facilities accept smaller flows,  Tijuana's main treatment facility (5 miles south of the border) is a ponding-based facility that is being upgraded to 25 MGD with the help of a $16 million BECC grant. Moreover, this facility, and others like it, is treating raw sewage. The ponds at the IWTP would treat sewage that has already been treated to advanced primary levels.

Some critics of the ponds in the United States are supporting the construction of similar ponds, of an even larger size (50 MGD), but located in eastern Tijuana. A private company, called Bajagua, is negotiating with Congressmen Brian Bilbray and Bob Filner to receive a 30-year contract from the United States to construct and operate this plant.

To date, they have not received approval to proceed from agencies in Mexico. Two Mexican federal government water agencies: Comision Nacional de Agua (CNA) and the Comision Internacional de Limites y Aguas (CILA, the Mexican version of the IBWC) have refused to comment officially on this project.

Reclamation options: Moreover, the Bajagua supporters have not received approval from authorities in the state of Baja California or Tijuana.

Instead, the city of Tijuana's water department, known as Comision Estatal de Servicio Publicos Tijuana (CESPT) is moving ahead with plans to construct 4 small reclamation facilities located on mesas near industrial parks. Tijuana is using low-interest loans from the Japanese Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund to assist with constructing these plants. These facilities will treat a total of nearly 12 MGD to reclamation standards. The water will be used in industrial applications, and for landscape irrigation on hillsides in Tijuana, which often erode during heavy rainstorms and damage the city's sewage collection system.

IWTP Operation & Toxicity problems:  In January 1999, the IWTP began operating, and it is now accepting approximately 25 million gallons per day (25 MGD) of sewage from Tijuana, Mexico. While local beaches are now opened most of the time, and renegade sewage flows have been reduced, the IWTP still only provides advanced primary treatment levels. The effluent from this plant has consistently failed acute toxicity tests and is beginning to fail chronic toxicity tests. It is discharged into the Pacific Ocean a few miles offshore in less than 100 feet of water.

Delays lead to Attorney General investigation: Because of these disagreements, delays and toxicity failures, the IBWC is now in violation of terms of their discharge permit, issued by the Regional Water Quality Control Board. The permit, issued in November 1996, outlined specific requirements:

1. The EPA was to issue a Record of Decision (ROD) and select a secondary treatment method by May 1999.
2. The secondary level facilities are to be completed by Dec. 31, 2000.

The EPA has approximately $54 million available in their Border Environmental Infrastructure Funds account (BEIF) that could provide the money needed for constructing ponds, estimated to cost $45 million. They would like to use the remaining $9 million for infrastructure improvements in Tijuana. However, they still need Congressional approval to raise the spending cap from the original $239 million, to use these funds to complete the construction of seconday facilities.

As of October 1999, the EPA has not issued the ROD that would officially identify a preferred alternative. Congressmen Brian Bilbray and Bob Filner, who favor the Bajagua plan, have told EPA Adminstrator Carol Browner to withold this document, and they have refused to request the authorization for additional funds needed to complete construction of the secondary facilities.  The EPA cannot proceed with any project as long as this funding cap is in place.

In August 1999, the Regional Water Quality Control Board voted unanimously to refer this matter to Bill Lockyer, California State Attorney General. The investigation is still active.

Next page: Two views of the Tijuana River Valley