SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — At the beginning of December, it was a called a 'last ditch effort,' by Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre. On December 17th, Mayor Aguirre left for Washington D.C. to get funding for the Tijuana River sewage crisis.
Saturday, President Biden signed a federal funding bill that will dole out $250 million towards the full repair and expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant near our southern border. It's been a long wait for relief for south bay residents -- relief from the smell and relief from a federal level.
Back in August, we spoke with Everett Sena who expressed his frustration after living in the area with his wife for more than 40 years.
"We can smell it at night, you can smell it at the wee hours of the morning," he tells us. "It's pretty annoying. I mean we've dealt with it for years already and I just wish the system would be taken care of because we've dealt with it."
The action taken by the White House comes after Mayor Aguirre told ABC 10News she was going to push for a federal state of emergency while in D.C. and felt optimistic about her conversations with republican congress members.
In an Instagram post, Mayor Aguirre called it a'success.'
The Tijuana sewage crisis has been a decades long issue, 10news has been following along the way.
From county leaders calling for federal help including San Diego County Supervisor, Terra Lawson-Remer. At a presser back in Juneshe doubled down once again.
"We've been demanding that the state and federal government take urgent action to clean up the Tijuana sewage crisis and to protect public health."
And even the younger generation taking a stand, like the Imperial Beach Charter second graders who sent letters to the President.
This, while South Bay residents have been trying their best to adjust to the persistent stench, where they've called it terrible.
And while its a step in the right direction, Mayor Aguirre explains the fight is far from over.
"The plant itself is not going to solve the entire crisis. The plant will treat 50 million gallons per day of sewage once it's completed, which won't be for another 5 years."
You can track the progress of the upgrades to the South Bay International Wastewater treatment plant here.
