San Diego city officials urged the governments of the U.S. and Mexico on Friday to address the growing crisis of wastewater being pumped into the city from neighboring Tijuana that has sickened residents and Navy SEALs.
"Mexico just dumped 6 million gallons of sewage into the Tijuana River — after promising they wouldn't. Let me be clear: this is not a one-time mistake. It's a pattern of broken promises," wrote San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond on X, adding: "For the past week, we've been told everything from 'hundreds of millions of gallons are coming' to 'nothing at all is being released.' The truth? We are at the mercy of a foreign government that continues to pollute our waters — while we get stuck with the consequences."
The rapid growth of Tijuana and that city's inability to update its infrastructure have burdened sewage treatment centers with massive amounts of wastewater they cannot handle. The result has been a staggering 31 billion gallons of raw sewage, storm runoff, and other pollutants that have flowed into the Tijuana River since 2023, resulting in an environmental catastrophe.
Navy SEAL training typically takes place at Coronado, California, but the polluted water off the coast have forced the elite unit to move north.
"Navy SEALs are now being transported from Coronado to Oceanside for training — because too many have gotten sick from Mexico's sewage," Desmond said.
On Thursday, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced he would visit the area and said Mexico has promised to restart a treatment plant that should help reduce leakage from the original plant.
"Mexico is stating that their pump station Cila will be activated to fully capture leakage headed to the U.S. tomorrow," Zeldin posted on X. "Mexico has further communicated that they are working to complete their international collector repair by this weekend."
Desmond noted that the sewage problem encapsulates a unique opportunity for the Trump administration to use the trade tensions between the two nations to solve several problems at once.
"It's time for action. Our beaches, our health, and our national security are on the line," he said.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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