A broken sewer line near Mexico’s Rio Alamar released 2 million gallons of sewage, which drains into the Tijuana River and eventually into the Pacific Ocean this past Tuesday. Officials stated the leak lasted for about 12 hours before anything was noticed and none of the sewage was recovered before spilling into San Diego County. It is unlikely their will be any consequences to the environmental disaster because the incident happened in Mexico, where California authorities have no authority. Cross border contamination is a common theme in the Tijuana-San Diego region though, and all along the entire border. It is said contaminated runoff from neighborhoods in Tijuana regularly stream down into the San Diego county following rains. This is the second spill to happen within the last month.
On April 4th, a spill from the San Ysidro treatment plant released millions of gallons of sewage into the Tijuana River and made its way to imperial beach. The spill was caused by a software malfunction in the treatment plant that went noticed for 3 hours. The public was not made aware in this instance, but surfer’s in the area took notice. Their were description of the water is that it smelled and tasted like detergent, an indication that the water is contaminated. The plant also has amnesty against penalties under the Clean Water Act because it is owned by the United States Government.
“2 Million Gallons f Sewage Flow From Tijuana River To Ocean,” KPBS, April 25th, 2012.
Lee, Mike. “Two million gallons of sewage hit TJ River- Again,” UT San Diego, April 25th, 2012.
Sewage Flowed Freely Without Water Warning,” Voice of San Diego, April 11, 2012.
