Decades Long Tijuana Sewage Crisis: Real Progress In just 100 days

For many years, untreated raw sewage has flowed into Southern California from Mexico and polluted the Tijuana River Valley, causing beaches to close, rendering them unusable. Even with beaches closed, and dangerous pollution issues, the federal government never managed to get Mexico to deal with the sewage.

In recent years, Navy SEALs in Coronado couldn’t even train on the beach because of the sewage.

San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond has played a major role in bringing this crisis to a national level and putting it on the radar of the federal government.

In April, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin made a visit to San Diego to address the years-long issue.

Also in April, Supervisor Desmond sent letters in April to U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding intervention.

Now, Supervisor Desmond reports that “in just 100 days, the Federal Government, the EPA, and the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission delivered a 10 million-gallon-per-day expansion at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant—a project once expected to take years.”

Thursday, the EPA announced:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin and U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) Commissioner Chad McIntosh announced the completion of the 10 million-gallon-per-day (mgd) expansion to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) in San Diego. This project was originally estimated to take two years, but the Trump Administration fast-tracked completion to just 100 days after announcing the project on May 20, 2025.

This expansion represents the completion of a major milestone in delivering Americans in the San Diego area a permanent, 100% solution to the decades-long Tijuana River sewage crisis and implementing the comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that Administrator Zeldin signed in Mexico City on July 24, 2025 on behalf of the Trump Administration.

Supervisor Jim Desmond said “a few months ago, I met with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and told him firsthand about the dire need to fix this crisis. I urged him to make it a top priority, and I’m grateful to say that he listened. In just 100 days, the Federal Government, the EPA, and the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission delivered a 10 million-gallon-per-day expansion at the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant – a project once expected to take years.”

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin and U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) Commissioner Chad McIntosh announced the completion last Thursday of the 10 million-gallon-per-day (mgd) expansion to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) in San Diego. This project was originally estimated to take two years, but the Trump Administration fast-tracked completion to just 100 days after announcing the project on May 20, 2025.

This expansion represents the completion of a major milestone in delivering Americans in the San Diego area a permanent, 100% solution to the decades-long Tijuana River sewage crisis and implementing the comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that Administrator Zeldin signed in Mexico City on July 24, 2025 on behalf of the Trump Administration.

“The Trump Administration committed to delivering an urgent and permanent 100% solution to the millions of people afflicted by this crisis, and that’s exactly what they’re going to get,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “Just four months after I personally surveyed the environmental devastation in San Diego, seeing the polluted waterways, closed beaches, and smelling the foul air, we’ve delivered this critical expansion years ahead of schedule. Protecting human health and the environment is our first priority at EPA, and no American should have to worry if the air they breathe or the beaches they visit are safe.”

“For decades politicians ignored the sewage crisis that poisoned our beaches, threatened our health and harmed our U.S. Navy Seals,”said Supervisor Desmond. “That has finally changed. Under the Trump administration this crisis has been made a top priority, and the results are clear. In just 100 days we’ve seen action instead of excuses. I want to thank Administrator Zeldin, the EPA, and the IBWC,  for their hard work and dedication to tackling this problem head-on. Because of their efforts, San Diegans are finally seeing progress that will make our community safer and healthier.”

“Here’s a video I took about four months ago showing just how dire this crisis was at the time,” Supervisor Desmond said. It’s a stark reminder of what we’ve been up against—and why this progress matters so much.”

The EPA reported:

The plant’s expedited expansion was one of the key U.S.-side projects detailed in the historic MOU that Administrator Zeldin signed in Mexico City in July 2025. The agreement establishes a framework for permanent resolution through three critical priorities:

Priority One: Securing Mexico’s Financial Commitments  

Over the next two budget cycles in 2026 and 2027, Mexico will fulfill its $93 million obligation for previously agreed upon projects, ensuring critical infrastructure can be completed by December 31, 2027, or sooner.

Priority Two: Accelerated Project Timelines  

Both countries are compressing construction schedules to deliver relief as quickly as possible. Mexico has committed to begin construction on two important projects before year’s end: diverting 10 million gallons per day of treated effluent upstream of the Rodriguez Dam, and rehabilitating the Parallel Gravity Line. The U.S. will release previously appropriated funds to accelerate Pump Station 1 and Tijuana River Gates projects once Mexico begins construction on its commitments.

Within 100 days of the MOU signing, both the U.S. and Mexico will evaluate and pressure-test all infrastructure project schedules to ensure completion on the shortest possible timelines. This accountability mechanism ensures that relief reaches affected communities years ahead of previous projections.

Priority Three: Future-Proofing the Solution  

Per the MOU, Mexico has agreed to enter into a new Minute with the U.S. no later than December 31, 2025. This new agreement will contain a minimum of one dozen new actions and projects necessary to permanently end the pollution crisis, including: engineering feasibility work for an ocean outfall pipe at Tijuana’s San Antonio de los Buenos wastewater treatment plant; creating a special maintenance account at the North American Development Bank; developing a comprehensive Tijuana water infrastructure master plan; and establishing a transparent, real-time binational monitoring system.