The infamous yellow "KEEP OUT OF WATER" signs are sadly synonymous with Imperial Beach. They’ve even creeped up the Silver Strand into Coronado. There’s a chance they could stand down this summer.
A chance.
A spokesperson for the State of Baja California said the San Antonio de los Buenos wastewater treatment plant is nearing completion. The plant has been offline and dumping more than 17 million gallons of raw sewage a day directly into the Pacific Ocean for several years.
That raw sewage flows north and has forced the County of San Diego to use the yellow signs from the border to the IB Pier for most of that time. There have been long stretches when the water has been off limits all the way up to Coronado Beach.
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Mexico began fixing its plant at the beginning of 2024. They said it would be ready by last September. That was five months ago. Last week, Dr. Maria-Elena Giner, the International Boundary and Water Commission commissioner, said it was finally done.
“San Antonio de los Buenos has been finished,” Giner said. “San Antonio de los Buenos is now being tested, and the full transfer and benefits we envision are going to be completed by March.”
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“All the equipment of the plant has already been tested, and the plant is entering the stabilization phase,” the Baja California spokesperson said. “That is, the plant has already started operations in the testing stage. The sludge pumps have already been more than tested and are working perfectly, according to the reports.”
“Cautiously optimistic that this will take place. I have received photos of the plant. It looks like it's operational," Imperial Beach Paloma Aguirre said. “That's a good thing. It's not everything we need. We still need to divert and treat the river itself.”
Aguirre argued the Tijuana River flowing through the estuary and out to the ocean is still the biggest threat to the water off IB and Coronado.
“There's still at least 20- to 40-million gallons per day flowing through the river that are not being treated," Aguirre said.
The mayor said the only chance the water would be safe for swimmers this summer would be if it doesn’t rain, the river stops flowing and San Antonio de los Buenos reopens in March.
“That may mean a reduction of beach closures during the summer months if there's no other source of flows going into the ocean,” Aguirre said. “These beach closures are devastating to not just our local economy, but South County's economy. We need them open so that we don't scare away tourism.”
Aguirre said there is word Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will preside over the rededication of the wastewater plant. The Baja California spokesman could not give a timeline or exact date for that event.
