San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond told Newsmax on Monday that the ongoing sewage crisis in southern San Diego County could present "an opportunity" for President Donald Trump's trade negotiations with Mexico.
According to San Diego Coastkeeper, an environmental organization based the city, since October 2023, as much as 31 billion gallons of raw sewage, polluted water from storms, and other trash has flowed down the Tijuana River causing "major concerns over public health risks" in southern San Diego County. The primary cause, according to the group, is Tijuana's rapid growth in recent years, which its "antiquated" sewer lines and treatment facilities cannot handle.
Desmond told Newsmax's "Wake Up America" on Monday that "it's actually 400,000 gallons of raw sewage to be just admitted through the Tijuana River and ends up in the United States and into our waterways."
He added that miles of beaches in the city of Imperial Beach in southern San Diego County, a major destination for surfing and tourism in the area, have "been closed for over a thousand days just because of this contamination of water and the sewage that comes directly across from Mexico. And all of a sudden it's our problem."
Desmond later added that he traveled to Washington, D.C., on Monday to meet with Environmental Protection Agency acting deputy administrator Chad McIntosh to discuss the issue.
"Now we got to strike while the iron is hot," he said, adding that this could present "an opportunity" for the Trump administration to gain leverage over Mexico during the ongoing dispute over Trump's tariffs.
"All this tariff stuff is going on right now... our president is dealing with Mexico and Canada, this could be... an opportunity... to put in the deal," Desmond said.
"Look, if you want to get rid of the tariffs, if you want to have an even playing ground, you have to stop dumping sewage... into the U.S. So I'm hoping today to get some get some action and some momentum and raise the awareness so hopefully we can get Mexico to stop sending their sewage into the United States."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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