April 19, 2018

Mexico’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA) announced an investment of $4.35 million for improvements to repair Tijuana sewage infrastructure. Roberto Ramirez Parra, National Director of CONAGUA stated “this is an effort to put an end to the health crisis that the municipality has been facing.” The project is designed to replace sewage pipelines and the main wastewater treatment plant in order to prevent major sewage spills along the canal, and is being developed in collaboration with CESPT, the public utilities commission for the State of Baja California, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, through its border infrastructure fund that is administered by the North American Development Bank. The project proves to be an advancement in the development of a binational action plan to mitigate and prevent further contamination and sewage spills.

The announcement came shortly after Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Luis Videgaray, promised to address the problem during his visit to San Diego. The Chamber commends CONAGUA, State of Baja and COCEF for addressing the infrastructure issues causing the Tijuana River Valley contamination, we are grateful for Consul General Celorio’s leadership on the issue and will continue to promote binational collaboration to achieve a solution.