San Diego County Supervisors OK Border Sewage Cleanup Plan

SAN DIEGO, CA — San Diego County supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to build a sewage treatment system on the U.S. side of the border with Mexico, and unanimously backed replacing failing box culverts beneath Saturn Boulevard, both in response to the Tijuana River pollution crisis.

Supervisors Paloma Aguirre and Terra Lawson-Remer's Tijuana River Capture and Cleanup Initiative will be carried out in three phases. According to Aguirre and Lawson-Remer, existing facilities on both sides of the border keep sewage out of the Tijuana River by capturing it in Mexico and conveying it to treatment.

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"But those systems do not capture everything, and none of them have the capacity to treat all of the polluted water flowing through the river itself," they added.

Their measure includes the following elements:

-- emergency declarations, along with possible state legislation, to speed up the permitting processes.

-- turning the board's ad hoc subcommittee on the sewage crisis into a standing committee for board oversight of every phase.

-- allocating $1.8 million to the Department of Public Works to oversee the project's first phase.

-- establishing a local capture and treatment system that "will finally give our region control over polluted river flows before they reach our communities and coastline, safeguarding public health, the environment, local economies and the region's long-term future."

Supervisor Joel Anderson, who stressed the need to build a coalition before embarking on any new treatment facility, cast the lone no vote on the measure.

"I don't believe we should be going (this) alone," said Anderson, who suggested that a coalition could better handle high project costs. "My concern is this is not our lane," Anderson said.

He added the purchase agreement between the Otay Water District and city of Tijuana could also be used as leverage, given that the city can't grow without more water.

Board Chair Lawson-Remer said the initiative is intended to build that coalition, but added that "we don't want to wait."

Supervisor Jim Desmond supported both initiatives but said that ultimately, he would like to "see Mexico stand up and fix this issue." Desmond added he hopes that Mexico meets certain milestones as part of a federal agreement, but "we should at least plan for the worst-case scenario."

Aguirre, the board chair pro tem, said Monday that she and her colleague "are asking to put $5.8 million in local county funds directly to work on U.S. soil." Before Tuesday's vote, Aguirre -- whose district includes communities impacted by the sewage pollution -- said that after 60 years of promises regarding the issue, "the skepticism in my community is not just understandable, it has been earned."

"It will take dedicated funding, real partnerships and years of work," said Aguirre, who credited recent agreements between the U.S. and Mexican governments, while also faulting the Biden and Trump administrations for not doing enough. She also took issue with Gov. Gavin Newsom for not declaring an emergency, and said she hoped his successor will.

Aguirre and Lawson-Remer also requested $4 million for design, environmental review and permitting for a project that would replace failing box culverts beneath Saturn Boulevard.

Located near the Tijuana River, the road features a "hot spot" that became the focus of studies last year by a team from UC San Diego. In 2024, the number of foul odor complaints spiked among residents near the Tijuana River. Team readings found levels of hydrogen sulfide -- also known as sewergas because of its rotten egg smell -- 4,500 times higher than what is typical for an urban area.

When completed, the project "would allow water to move more freely through the channel, reducing the turbulence that releases harmful gases into the air," according to their board letter. "It would also improve flood protection, reduce road overtopping and make access to the Tijuana River Valley Regional Park more reliable."

Supervisors recently approved $2.5 million to fix existing culvert pipes, with completion expected next year. However, that project "addresses an immediate public health problem with funding already in place, while the county works to secure the much larger investment needed for the permanent solution," officials said.

Both projects received vocal support from the local Sierra Club chapter and the YMCA during public comment. Maria Ortiz, a University of San Diego graduate student, said she and other conflict resolution students have studied social action campaigns in the Tijuana River Valley, and "today, we stand here just not as students, but as engaged citizens."

Ortiz, the wife of a veteran and mother of an active-duty naval officer, recounted an experience while stationed with her family in Italy. Following reports over water toxicity there, "the Navy moved our family within days, so I know that swift action is possible, because I've lived it," she said.

One District 5 resident criticized the proposals, however.

"The county's asking the poisoned to pay for this," he said, adding that $600 million in EPA funding has already been proposed. The resident said there is no sewage water running through pipes under Saturn Boulevard now, and he credited the Trump administration for convincing Mexico to turn on diversion methods.

During a Monday news conference, Lawson-Remer said the proposals are "a long-term solution that gives us control of our own future."

"The time has come to end this environmental injustice," she added.

Aguirre said she first started working on the pollution issue when she was a 25-year-old surfer who just wanted clean water.

"That was over 20 years ago, and still here we are," Aguirre added. "Every person regardless of ZIP code has a right to clean water and clean air."

Aguirre said county leaders will continue working with Mexico and the federal government to reduce the sewage threat.

By KAREN WEIL / City News Service