Tijuana Sewage Plant Opens : Mexican President Dedicates City’s First System

Amid an outpouring of pomp, ceremony and national pride, Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid personally inaugurated a long-awaited, $20-million sewage-treatment system here Wednesday.

Apart from its benefits to Tijuana, the new system is seen as a crucial first step in resolving the decades-long problem of Mexican sewage polluting the beaches, ocean and farmland in adjoining San Diego County. The sewage issue--one of several serious international pollution problems plaguing the border region--has emerged as a significant irritant in U.S.-Mexico relations.

“Today,” said Manuel Camacho Solis, Mexico’s secretary of urban development and ecology, “Mexico fulfills its international commitment.”

Mexico’s commitment to reduce border pollution, Camacho and other proud Mexican officials were quick to point out, was tackled at a time when Mexico is facing its most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression.

On Wednesday, De la Madrid officially initiated operations at the centerpiece of the new system--a 25-acre treatment plant carved into the rugged hillside terrain overlooking the Pacific Ocean about four miles south of the border.

Pointedly invited to the opening ceremonies were many U.S. officials who had long criticized the Mexican government’s inaction regarding the border pollution problem. Mexican authorities, who are often circumspect about U.S. press coverage, encouraged U.S. reporters to attend the event and provided transportation for journalists and officials.

Officials from the United States were quick to compliment the Mexican initiative, which represents the fast-growing city’s first extensive sewage-treatment system. Until now, most sewage from the city of 1 million residents has been diverted to the United States for treatment or dumped raw into the ocean, rivers or canyons.

“Now is a time to really praise Mexico for doing something many of us thought we’d never live to see,” said San Diego County Supervisor Brian Bilbray, who as mayor of Imperial Beach once mounted a bulldozer to dam up the Tijuana sewage flow into his city. “This is a giant leap forward.”

A. James Barnes, deputy administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, who flew in from Washington for the opening, said: “I think they (Mexican officials) have fulfilled their commitment, and it was not a particularly easy commitment to keep, given the financial situation in Mexico.”

However, U.S. officials also acknowledged that Tijuana’s rapidly rising population has already outpaced the the capacity of the new system, and future growth will further tax the system. Among other alternatives, Mexican officials are considering an expansion of the new plant or construction of additional facilities elsewhere.

“We plan to meet 100% of Tijuana’s sewage treatment needs,” Camacho said.

Apart from the city’s rapid growth, another central problem remains: large portions of Tijuana remain unconnected to the central sewage system, a predicament that results in so-called “renegade” flows of about 4 million gallons of raw sewage each day. Much of the escaped sewage drains onto U.S. territory. U.S. officials are engaged in several projects aimed at capturing this sewage and sending it back to Mexico.

“This is a giant leap forward,” Bilbray said of the new plant, “but it’s a journey that is ongoing, and we’ve got to recognize that.”

Arriving at the plant in one of six helicopters whose blades caused a swirling dust storm, President de la Madrid pushed a button shortly after 1:30 p.m. to formally signify the opening of the treatment system. Shortly thereafter, raw wastes began pouring into one of three man-made lagoons where the sewage will be held and treated. After testing, the plant is expected to be fully operational in about two months.

Mexican officials described the plant as the largest in the world operating with a system of “oxygenated lagoons.” The process, considerably less costly than the treatment methods prevalent in the United States, involves the breakdown of solids and bacteria in the wastes through the constant infusion of oxygen. After the oxygen treatment, the sewage is chlorinated and released into an open channel that discharges the liquid into the ocean with more than 90% of the impurities removed, according to Mexican officials. Some of the waste water may be used for irrigation, officials said.

The system is designed to handle 17 million gallons of raw sewage daily, according to U.S. officials. However, they note that the city currently produces more than 20 million gallons of sewage each day, and that figure is rising as more and more impoverished migrants from the Mexican interior come to Tijuana seeking better lives.

About 15 minutes after arriving, De la Madrid and his entourage of security personnel, journalists and officials departed the sewage-treatment plant, flying to the opening of a new park in Tijuana. De la Madrid left the sewage treatment site without saying a word publicly.

Wednesday was the final day of a hectic three-day presidential visit to the border state of Baja California. Among other things, the president also presided over the dedication of a new military barracks in Mexicali and the opening of new units of the Cerro Prieto geothermal power plant, also in Mexicali.