SEWAGE San Diego and Tijuana: Sewage Pollution Problems and Policys Solutions Sewage treatment has always

been an issue in the highly populated urban areas. A

critically important aspect of everyday life, access to the clean drinkable water, directly depends on the wastewater treatment and water purification system. Moreover, the better wastewater treatment is installed, the less water purification is needed. Therefore, in general, it is more reasonable to eliminate the source of the pollution than try to purify the polluted water. However, the situation can be complicated when the main source of pollution is located in different area or country. This paper will discuss the sewage pollution problem in the area of San Diego and Tijuana. Background The highly developed urban area of Tijuana is located along the Tijuana river, which naturally collects the sewage run-off and discharge it to the ocean. Starting from 1938, Tijuana has been discharging raw sewage into the Tijuana River (Jameson, 2008). Poor or no treatment has directly led to the contamination of crops and tap water. According to Lee (n. d.) the volume of sewage flow is up to 15 million gallons per day. The volume of sewage considerably increases during annual floods and current sewage treatment capacities fails to process the increased load. The local beaches present a significant value for tourism industry and loss from water contamination was estimated 100 million dollars (Lee, n. d.) before the construction of the international sewage treatment plant. Taking into account that the majority of the sewage comes from residential sector, which has poorly developed sewage collecting system, the source of pollution is decentralized. This complicates the problem. In fact, even the construction of the water treatment facility will not be the all-in-one solution since the outdated infrastructure will continue to break down and lead to

SEWAGE leakages. For instance, even after the construction of new international wastewater treatment facility, in 2012 sewage spill that occurred mainly due to the old infrastructure in Tijuana led to the serious contamination of the ocean at the local beaches (Surfwire, 2012). Though the major source of sewage is Tijuana residential sector, there are also some industrial facilities that discharge typically untreated wastewater. Since they are usually contaminated with various chemical compound of non-organic origin, the treatment of such cocktail can become an extremely challenging task. In fact, such a mixture can decrease the effectiveness of the usual system of using aerobic biological treatment by creating the hostile conditions for microorganisms-cleaners. Environmental Impacts According to Lee (n. d.) the sewage contamination of the coastal areas is not considered

to be long-term problem. The self-cleaning natural system supported by local ocean currents and sunny climate leads to quite fast breakdown of organic contaminants in the sea water. At the same time, Lee acknowledges that high constant volumes of untreated or poorly treated sewage will inevitably have considerable negative environmental consequences over the short-term. The main negative impact is the decrease of water deoxygenation, which, in turn, negatively affects the marine fauna and flora. Moreover, contamination with sediments quite negatively affects bottom fauna. Due to contamination of the Tijuana River, up to 3 miles of the shoreline in both states is closed for visitors and put under quarantine. Seawater polluted with sewage is the main contribute to the high rates of diseases in the area. In particular, the situation with dysentery, hepatitis and malaria can potentially worsen. Though no data exist on negative consequences of

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contamination for the local fisheries (Lee, n. d.) the local fishing companies complain about high sewage level and affected sea floor marine fauna. Another consequence of the Tijuana river pollution is affected underground aquifers. Though the Tijuana city utilizes only five percent to the available groundwater resources, the water quality does not always meet the safety standards (United Nations Environment Programme, 2009). Planned development of the aquifers in San Diego will be seriously curbed if the pollution in the Tijuana River watershed is not stopped. Currently, both San Diego and Tijuana municipalities utilizes surface water for supply. However, the existing capacities are limited and with the constantly growing population municipalities will sooner or later start to develop groundwater resources. Current State of the Issue The problem is complex and involves many agents and stakeholders. Community activist groups were especially active in this issue. As a result, in 1997 operation the International Treatment Plant was established. The capacity of this plant envisages treatment of 25 million gallons of sewage per day. Currently, effluent distributes treated water 3 miles offshore from the South Bay Ocean Outfall (Marosi, 2012). Unfortunately, the International Treatment Plant has its certain shortcomings as well. Because of some system defects, untreated sewage happens to fall in the river. Therefore, a range of ideas and initiatives are being constantly discussed. Thus, one of the prospective concepts, called Bajauga, for instance, implies introduction of the treatment plant in the east of Tijuana, which will utilize effluent on the form of reclaimed water (Jameson, 2008). Avoiding the Problem in Future

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The sewage problem in Tijuana is tightly connected with the absence of adequate sewage infrastructure in the city. In fact, the existence of primary treatment facility does not help to avoid sewage spills in the future, since the sewage infrastructure in the city is not centralized (Herzog, 1990). Significant residential and industrial areas are not connected to the sewage discharge system. The only way to prevent the sewage spills in the future is to totally renovate the sewage pipeline system in Tijuana, which will require a serious investments and planning from Mexican authorities. The costly renovation of infrastructure is very unlikely to occur in the nearest future since neither Mexican and, certainly, nor American authorities will invest in such project. Therefore, the spills will continue to happen in the future even with the wastewater treatment facility operating. Clean Measures and Regulations Today some measures aimed at improving environmental situation and water treatment are being introduced. One of them is the operation of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP). The Government of Mexico currently has made a contribution of $1.1 million for the maintenance and annual operation. The total sum of contributions from the Mexican Government has reached $16.8 million already, including the costs for construction. The share of the USA in the funding constituted $239.4 million and was managed through a body called the Environmental Protection Agency. Part of this sum was directed to San Diego for construction of the South Bay Ocean Outfall and to the Corps of Engineers for environmental related activities. Also, some financial support was directed towards construction of the SBIWTP and related infrastructure.

SEWAGE As to the share of Mexico, it is expected that its costs will be directed towards

construction and maintenance of the facility at Rio Alamar and expansion of the Tijuana sewage system. Additionally, Mexico will cover costs of all related works and activities for operation and maintenance of these facilities. Moreover, the costs of the SBIWTP functioning are shared by the USA and Mexico (International Boundary and Water Commission, n. d.). Cooperation between Countries Generally, it can be said that both countries show responsible approach and willingness in tackling the main problem of water pollution across joint border by means of constant negotiations, joint planning, and taking necessary measures and activities. However, another issue is that constant pollution results in yearly contamination of water, which is being accumulated. Therefore, there is a need for parallel activities aimed not only at sewage treatment but also at restoring the normal condition of the water and reducing existing pollution level generally (Lee, n. d.). Conclusion The sewage problem in Tijuana and San Diego shows the complexity of the international environmental issues, when one stakeholder suffers from the others environmental mismanagement. At the same time, the peaceful cooperation between two countries takes place and it can be said that there are positive trends in finding the solution to this problem. However, the proposed methods and completed projects such as South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant do not fully solve the problem since they do not address all the sources of the sewage spills, i.e. the outdated sewage infrastructure in Tijuana.

SEWAGE References Herzog, L. A. (1990). Where North Meets South: Cities, Space, and Politics on the United States-Mexico Border. Austin: University of Texas. International Boundary and Water Commission. (n. d.). South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP). Retrieved from http://www.ibwc.state.gov/mission_operations/sbiwtp.html Jameson, J. (2008). Tijuana Sewage History. Retrieved from http://www.sewagehistory.com/tijuana.html Lee, J. R. (n. d.). San Diego Water Pollution. Retrieved from http://www1.american.edu/ted/SANDIEGO.HTM Marosi, R. (2012, August 29) San Diego beaches remain closed after Tijuana sewage spill. Los

Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/08/san-diegobeaches-still-closed-after-tijuana-sewage-spill.html Surfwire. (2012). Sewage Spill in Playas de Tijuana Highlights Need for Improved Border Wastewater Infrastructure. Retrieved from http://www.surfline.com/surf-news/_75522/ United Nations Environment Programme. (2009). Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience Along International Waters. Sioux Falls: UNEP.