IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. (KGTV) – A new way to raise money to fix the ongoing South Bay sewage crisis has been proposed by State Sen. Steve Padilla -- a toll charge in Otay Mesa in which funds would be earmarked for sewage-related projects.
The proposed toll would be on the Otay Mesa 2 lane on state Route 11, located just northeast of where state Route 125 and state Route 905 connect.
Padilla joined other community leaders for a news conference Wednesday morning. The toll is estimated to bring in about $25 million per year to put towards sewage, but it's unclear how much that could cost each driver.
The toll is the focus of Senate Bill 10, which Padilla introduced on Monday. It would allow SANDAG to use some of the money from the Otay Mesa 2 toll road for sewage projects.
The proposed toll is just the latest step to fix what has become an extremely expensive problem in the South Bay.
Earlier this year, the federal government invested $400 million in the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant to bring much-needed fixes and increase its capacity to treat sewage.
Then, a CDC study found unacceptable levels of pollutants in the air and water. In response, South Bay leaders have handed out air purifiers to impacted homes.
Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre said the toll road proposal has widespread support since many leaders want to fund projects, aside from the sewage plant, to tackle untreated waste coming directly from the Tijuana River.
“Everyone is caught up in the plant itself, but the plant is not going to solve the entire crisis,” said Aguirre. “The plant will treat 50 million gallons a day of sewage when it's completed, which will take five years. But we have the entire effluent and flow of the river itself.”
