What happens in Tijuana doesn’t necessarily stay in Tijuana, especially when it’s a sewage spill.

Beaches in the San Diego area were closed on Tuesday when 1 million gallons of raw sewage washed up in Border Field State Park, Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge Shoreline and Imperial Beach after a pipe broke a mile south of the border. Wildcoast reported that the International Boundary and Water Commission was monitoring the spill, which was pouring out 1.59 million gallons of sewage a day. Officials expected the pipeline break to be sealed quickly.

A similar spill in January 2011 dumped an estimated 30 million gallons of sewage into the water and in April a reported 25-60 million gallons in the Tijuana River had San Diego beach monitors on alert. Tijuana has four wastewater treatment plants.

The commission, a binational effort of the U.S. and Mexico that applies boundary and water treaties and settles differences between the two countries, lauded Mexico’s accomplishments in wastewater treatment earlier this month, citing a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report that said the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant just below the border had met EPA standards three months in a row.    

With that report, Tijuana water treatment was deemed superior to San Diego’s by Dave Gibson, executive officer of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board.     

“The city of Tijuana is now producing cleaner wastewater day to day than the biggest U.S. city in the region,” Gibson told the San Diego Reader.

–Ken Broder

To Learn More:

1 Million Gallons of Sewage from Mexico Closes San Diego Beaches (by Robert J. Lopez, Los Angeles Times)

Sewage Spill in Playas de Tijuana Highlights Need for Improved Border Wastewater Infrastructure (Surfline)

Tijuana Wastewater Cleaner Than San Diego’s (by Lucy D. Barker, San Diego Reader)

Another Sewage Spill Causes Beach Closure in Playas de Tijuana (by Paloma Aguirre, Wildcoast)

Size of Tijuana Sewage Spill Is Disputed (by Sandra Dribble and Mike Lee, San Diego Union-Tribune)   

SEWAGE SPILL /Beach Closure ALERT April 10th, 2012 (by Paloma Aguirre, Wildcoast)