Point Loma Plant Gets Tijuana Sewage

Sewage that normally would flow into the Tijuana River was being pumped to the Point Loma Treatment Plant in San Diego on an interim basis beginning Friday, members of San Diego’s congressional delegation announced.

The interim pumping, which will handle up to 13 million gallons a day, will continue until the new International Sewage Treatment Plant can be completed at the border. Friday’s announcement came just more than a week after the House and Senate gave final approval to $49 million toward construction of the international plant.

“Cleaning up this sewage problem has been a major priority for the entire congressional delegation,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Coronado). “We’ve worked together to eliminate this dangerous health threat to the people of the Tijuana River Valley and this open sore on the environment. This is a crucial step toward a permanent solution.”

Tijuana sewage has caused pollution problems in the South Bay for years.

“For the first time in decades, the flow will no longer have free rein over the canyons, gullies, wetlands and estuaries that have suffered from its insidious invasion,” said Rep. Bill Lowery (R-San Diego). “We now have a chance to take an open sewer and restore it to a river.”