Here we go again: Broken sewage infrastructure in Tijuana last week sent roughly 7 million gallons a day of sewage into the Tijuana River, leading to beach closures along the south San Diego coast. The cause was a ruptured collector pipe in a part of the sewage system that has already received millions of dollars in upgrades in recent years, according to the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), a joint U.S.-Mexico agency that oversees binational water issues.
Though authorities succeeded in reducing the amount of sewage that was released, the early week sewage tsunami amounted to a disgusting reminder that one of the region's most serious problems remains unresolved. Federal agencies, the White House, Congress and the Mexican government need to stop tolerating this public health nightmare. The San Diego City Council, with three new members, should take a stand by joining in the lawsuit filed in March by Imperial Beach, Chula Vista and the Port of San Diego accusing the IBWC of being responsible for massive violations of the Clean Water Act.
San Diego County staffers defend their conciliatory approach of lobbying federal officials. Supervisor Greg Cox is supposed to meet soon with the Environmental Protection Agency's regional administrator in San Francisco to push for a $36.8 million grant for Tijuana sewer repairs. Perhaps a good cop-bad cop approach makes some sense, given that court fights can last years.
However this mess is resolved, the recent years' frequent spills reflect absolute government incompetence. As Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina said recently, "It's like 'Groundhog Day' or a 'Chronicle of a Death Foretold' for sewage, it's just a nightmare." Elected officials need to wake up.
