U.S., Mexico Fast-Track Solution To Tijuana River Pollutants

A joint effort between the U.S. EPA and Mexico will accelerate expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) from a planned two-year timeline to just 100 days. Expansion of the plant’s treatment capacity from 25 million gallons per day (MGD) to 35 MGD is intended to end “the decades-long Tijuana sewage crisis,” reads a statement from EPA spokesperson Mike Bastasch.

The 120-mile Tijuana River is ranked by American Rivers as the second-most endangered U.S. waterway in 2025 — behind the Mississippi River — blaming mismanagement, under-investment in wastewater infrastructure, and Clean Water Act violations for its condition. The Tijuana River dumps millions of gallons of wastewater into the Pacific Ocean daily. Contaminants including sewage and industrial waste become airborne as river water churns and waves from the Pacific Ocean break on shore, claims a UC San Diego study published in Science Today in May.