Commentary: Environment report: US steps up watchdog role over Tijuana sewage system
Years ago, in a moment of despair over the utter dead-end that solving the Tijuana River sewage crisis seemed to be, I asked U.S. officials why we don’t just cross the border and start fixing broken pipes in Mexico. Nations can’t just cross each other’s borders like that, MacKenzie, the kindly federal official told me. At least, they shouldn’t. It would be a rude mistake. Mexico could consider such federal intrusion without permission as an act of war. But President Joe Biden’s pick to rein in cross-border sewage spills has found a way to leverage her relationships with Mexico to encourage more collaborative U.S. involvement. Maria-Elena Giner announced to reporters during a press conference last week that the International Boundary and Water Commission (the binational agency that deals with cross-border water issues) will start monthly inspections of a key sewage pump and trash shredder in Tijuana that feeds wastewater into San Diego for treatment.
-Written by MacKenzie Elmer, Voice of San Diego reporter.