Update: On Wednesday, the IBWC revealed the shutdown of PB1 has been delayed while Comisión Estatal de Servicios Públicos de Tijuana continues preparing for construction work to be completed during shutdown.
Millions of gallons of sewage water from Mexico will soon be flowing into the south bay.
The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) estimates 10 to 12 million extra gallons of water will flow to the International Wastewater Treatment plant in San Ysidro amid a closure at a Mexican pump.
Mexican Pump Station PB1 will close on Tuesday for up to 10 days "to facilitate construction on the international collector and the new highway construction in Mexico," according to the IBWC.
“There could be an additional smell, but I think for the most part hopefully it won’t be noticeable," said the Area Operations Manager for the IBWC, Morgan Rogers, when asked how the increase in flow could effect people nearby.
Meanwhile, parts of the south bay, like Smuggler's Gulch off of Monument Road, remain full of trash.
The air smells of sewage water and the channel has continuously been flowing for months.
On February 13, ABC 10News toured a man's property that is covered in trash after a berm broke following heavy rain.
More than a month later, the trash is still there and a large puddle made up of water and sewage from the channel continues growing on his property.
"It's just nasty," says Kay McCauley, who boards a horse near the water treatment plant and is a member of the Tijuana River Valley Equestrian Association, a nonprofit with a mission to promote and protect the horse and rider experience in the Tijuana River Valley.
McCauley has seen the man's property and continuously advocates for cleaner conditions in San Ysidro.
"You kind of sit there and you like put your shirt up or you, you just try to escape from it and there's no escape," said McCauley, when describing the smell in the area.
McCauley wants to see the trash cleaned up from the waterways, but is not optimistic the issues will be solved soon.
"I don't even know if it can be fixed at this point," she said.
Rogers says despite the temporary increase in flow, the construction in Mexico in the upcoming weeks should help overall conditions in the south bay.
“We should see less flow going through the Tijuana River and going through our coast and our beaches," said Rogers.
