Department of Water Resources
California Water News
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
December 12, 2007
4. Water Quality
Discharge from new sewage plants feared
San Diego Union Tribune – 12/12/07
By Sandra Dibble, staff writer
TIJUANA – Two new sewage treatment plants expected to open next year have been hailed as important projects for Tijuana's rapidly growing eastern neighborhoods. But in California, the plants have raised fears that their discharge would damage an important wetland downstream in Imperial Beach.
The future plants, known as Monte de los Olivos and La Morita, will discharge into the Tijuana River. The treated water – up to 16.1 million gallons daily – will flow toward the U.S.-Mexico border. If nothing is done, it will cross into the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, a federally protected wetland.
Baja California officials yesterday outlined their plan to keep the water in Mexico to members of the binational Border 2012 Tijuana Rivershed Task Force. Baja California's solution involves capturing the water before it crosses into San Diego County and pumping it for release into the ocean several miles south of the border, said Toribio Cueva López, a deputy director of Baja California's Public Service Commission in Tijuana.
“The project is critical,” said Doug Liden, an environmental engineer with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in San Diego.
The agency, which has allocated more than $39 million for Tijuana sewage projects through its Border Infrastructure Program, plans to fund a new project that would bring sewage connections to houses in eastern Tijuana. But the money can't be spent until the agency is assured that the treated water from the new plants won't cross into the United States.
Monte de los Olivos, which will treat up to 10.5 million gallons per day, is set to begin operating in March or April. La Morita, with a capacity of 5.7 million gallons per day, is expected to open by July.
Because the estuary is a saltwater wetland, “you can't have fresh water regardless of quality . . . ” said Bart Christensen, a senior engineer with the California Water Resources Control Board.
Hernando Durán, Tijuana director of the State Public Services Commission, said his agency is planning a pipeline next year that would take up to half the Monte de los Olivos discharge for reuse in parks and businesses. #
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20071212/news_1m12sewage.html
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