SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – The Tijuana Sewage Crisis saw it's latest incident of wastewater flowing into the United States.
The U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC) said in a statement on Sunday that it was, “investigating the cause of the transboundary flow of wastewater mixed with heavy stormwater that has been entering the United States at the San Diego, Calif.-Tijuana, Baja Calif. international boundary.”
The flow happened near Stewart’s Drain which flows into the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant at around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
"No surprise at all. This is the Kool-Aid we drink as residents,” Baron Partlow, a Imperial Beach activist, said.
The issues of the sewage crisis and what’s been done to try to curb the issues of the wastewater flowing into the South Bay have been ongoing for decades.
"We saw during the Bush administration the groundbreaking of funding for the plant happen and, actually under Clinton, it came into in 1993, I think,” Partlow said.
Despite the plant and efforts to restore and repair it, there’s still an issue in the community.
"But, the situation hasn't gotten any better,” Marvel Harrison, another local community activist, said. "The last 36 months have been hellacious in terms of sewage output."
USIBWC stated on Sunday that the Sunday’s flow incident was stopped later that afternoon. The agency also said it’ll be working with Mexico along with the State Department and EPA to determine what caused the flow and if it’s related to work on the Mexican side of the border to improve the country’s own infrastructure.
The crisis in the South Bay is something catching the eye of the new head of the EPA.
This weekend, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin wrote on X, "I was just briefed that Mexico is dumping large amounts of raw sewage into the Tijuana River, and it's now seeping into the U.S. This is unacceptable. Mexico MUST honor its commitments to control this pollution and sewage!"
"I wanted to make sure that the new Administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency was aware of the Tijuana Sewer Crisis,” Mayor John McCann of City of Chula Vista said.
McCann told ABC 10News he got word to Zeldin after he was confirmed about the crisis through mutual connections.
He said those connections were able to brief Zeldin about what was happening in the South Bay.
"Clearly, I think when you can show and express that people at the national level how bad the sewage issue is, they then may take action,” McCann said.
McCann’s not the only elected official to ask Washington for help.
Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre went to D.C. three times last year asking for a state of emergency and other assistance.
As ABC 10News reported, she also wrote a letter to Zeldin asking for assistance just days before his post.
"The fact that there is an acknowledgment that this is a serious concern from the highest environmental protection authority of the land is incredibly hopeful,” Mayor Paloma Aguirre of City of Imperial Beach said.
Some also echoed the same sense of hope with the acknowledgment.
"I can only be positive about okay we got; we have someone's attention," Harrison said.
