International Boundary Wastewater Treatment Plant

Last updated

The International Wastewater Treatment Plant (IWTP) is a plant developed by the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) in the South Bay area of San Diego, California. [1] Construction began on a 75-acre site, west of San Ysidro in the Tijuana River Valley. The project, authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1989 and formally agreed between the two countries in July 1990, was part of a regional approach to solve long-standing problems, particularly the flow of sewage-contaminated water into the ocean via the Tijuana River. [2]

Completed in spring 1997, the official ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on April 18 and the plant came properly on-line in May.

The International Wastewater Treatment Plant was created in an effort to mitigate pollution caused by untreated sewage coming from the city of Tijuana. The U.S. paid for the majority of the treatment plant, citing the sewage runoff as an international issue. [3] [4] It required the cooperation of multiple governmental bodies. Even though most of the plant's raw sewage comes from Tijuana, it is owned by the U.S. portion of the International Boundary and Water Commission, an agreement between Mexico and the US that helps delineate border lines and allocate water flow from the rivers and other bodies of water that intermingle between the U.S. and Mexico. [5] [4]

Due to the rapid growth Tijuana has experienced, failures of the sewer infrastructure were frequent. Mexico did not have the money to fund a large treatment plant to deal with this issue, so the U.S., specifically the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), helped to fund the project. The rationale for this was that due to the proximity of Tijuana to San Diego, and the fact that the sewage flow often causes the closure of U.S. beaches due to bacterial contamination of the water, [6] it was warranted for both municipalities and government bodies to contribute to funding. [3]  The project cost the U.S. a total of $239 million [7] initially, and the addition of secondary treatment technology that helped meet regulations so the water could flow to the U.S. side of the border cost an additional $18 million. Currently, the treatment plant supports a daily flow of 25 million gallons of raw sewage per day. [4] [8] Ultimately, this agreement made strides to increase the availability of clean drinking water in Tijuana and helped to ensure that pollution and degradation to the surrounding environment was minimized.

Related Research Articles

Greywater Type of wastewater generated in households without toilet wastewater

Greywater refers to domestic wastewater generated in households or office buildings from streams without fecal contamination, i.e., all streams except for the wastewater from toilets. Sources of greywater include sinks, showers, baths, washing machines or dishwashers. As greywater contains fewer pathogens than domestic wastewater, it is generally safer to handle and easier to treat and reuse onsite for toilet flushing, landscape or crop irrigation, and other non-potable uses. Greywater may still have some pathogen content from laundering soiled clothing or cleaning the anal area in the shower or bath.

Water pollution Contamination of water bodies

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities, in such a manner that negatively affects its legitimate uses. Water pollution reduces the ability of the body of water to provide the ecosystem services that it would otherwise provide. Water bodies include for example lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and groundwater. Water pollution results when contaminants are introduced into these water bodies. In addition to damage to many species, water pollution can also lead to water-borne diseases for people. Water pollution traditionally is attributed to four sources, which provide the organization of this article:

Wastewater treatment Converting wastewater into an effluent for return to the water cycle

Wastewater treatment is a process used to remove contaminants from wastewater and convert it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once returned to the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on the environment or is reused for various purposes. The treatment process takes place in a wastewater treatment plant. There are several kinds of wastewater which are treated at the appropriate type of wastewater treatment plant. For domestic wastewater, the treatment plant is called a sewage treatment plant. For industrial wastewater, treatment either takes place in a separate industrial wastewater treatment plant, or in a sewage treatment plant. Further types of wastewater treatment plants include agricultural wastewater treatment plants and leachate treatment plants.

Clean Water Act 1972 U.S. federal law regulating water pollution

The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the responsibilities of the states in addressing pollution and providing assistance to states to do so, including funding for publicly owned treatment works for the improvement of wastewater treatment; and maintaining the integrity of wetlands.

Tijuana River River in Mexico and California

The Tijuana River is an intermittent river, 120 mi (195 km) long, near the Pacific coast of northern Baja California state in northwestern Mexico and Southern California in the western United States. The river is heavily polluted with raw sewage from the city of Tijuana, Mexico.

Onsite sewage facilities (OSSF), also called septic systems, are wastewater systems designed to treat and dispose of effluent on the same property that produces the wastewater, in areas not served by public sewage infrastructure.

Effluent Liquid waste or sewage discharged into a river or the sea

Effluent is an outflowing of water or gas to a natural body of water, from a structure such as a sewage treatment plant, sewer pipe, industrial wastewater treatment plant or industrial outfall. Effluent, in engineering, is the stream exiting a chemical reactor.

The International Boundary and Water Commission is an international body created by the United States and Mexico in 1889 to apply the rules for determining the location of their international boundary when meandering rivers transferred tracts of land from one bank to the other, as established under the Convention of November 12, 1884.

New River (Mexico–United States) River that flows from Mexico into the United States

The New River flows north from near Cerro Prieto, through the city of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, into the United States through the city of Calexico, California, towards the Salton Sea. The river channel has existed since pre-historic times. However, the river as known today formed from a levee failure and massive flooding that filled the Salton Sea.

San Diego–Tijuana International transborder agglomeration in Southern California and northwestern Baja California

San Diego–Tijuana is an international transborder agglomeration, straddling the border of the adjacent North American coastal cities of San Diego, California, United States and Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The 2012 population of the region was 4,922,723, making it the largest bi-national conurbation shared between the United States and Mexico, the second-largest shared between the US and another country. In its entirety, the region consists of San Diego County in the United States and the municipalities of Tijuana, Rosarito Beach, and Tecate in Mexico. It is the third most populous region in the California–Baja California region, smaller only than the metropolitan areas of Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sewage treatment Process of removing contaminants from municipal wastewater

Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water pollution from raw sewage discharges. Sewage contains wastewater from households and businesses and possibly pre-treated industrial wastewater. There are a high number of sewage treatment processes to choose from. These can range from decentralized systems to large centralized systems involving a network of pipes and pump stations which convey the sewage to a treatment plant. For cities that have a combined sewer, the sewers will also carry urban runoff (stormwater) to the sewage treatment plant. Sewage treatment often involves two main stages, called primary and secondary treatment, while advanced treatment also incorporates a tertiary treatment stage with polishing processes and nutrient removal. Secondary treatment can reduce organic matter from sewage,  using aerobic or anaerobic biological processes.

Marine outfall Pipeline or tunnel that discharges municipal or industrial wastewater, stormwater, combined sewer overflows, cooling water, or brine effluents from water desalination plants to the sea

A marine outfall is a pipeline or tunnel that discharges municipal or industrial wastewater, stormwater, combined sewer overflows (CSOs), cooling water, or brine effluents from water desalination plants to the sea. Usually they discharge under the sea's surface. In the case of municipal wastewater, effluent is often being discharged after having undergone no or only primary treatment, with the intention of using the assimilative capacity of the sea for further treatment. Submarine outfalls are common throughout the world and probably number in the thousands. The light intensity and salinity in natural sea water disinfects the wastewater to ocean outfall system significantly. More than 200 outfalls alone have been listed in a single international database maintained by the Institute for Hydromechanics at Karlsruhe University for the International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research (IAHR) / International Water Association (IWA) Committee on Marine Outfall Systems.

Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve

Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve is a natural reserve in Imperial Beach, California and San Ysidro, San Diego. It encompasses the Tijuana River Estuary, located on the Mexico–United States border. It is divided into two parts: the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge on the north, and Border Field State Park in the south.

California State Water Resources Control Board

The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) is one of six branches of the California Environmental Protection Agency.

Water pollution in the United States Overview of water pollution in the United States of America

Water pollution in the United States is a growing problem that became critical in the 19th century with the development of mechanized agriculture, mining, and industry, although laws and regulations introduced in the late 20th century have improved water quality in many water bodies. Extensive industrialization and rapid urban growth exacerbated water pollution as a lack of regulation allowed for discharges of sewage, toxic chemicals, nutrients and other pollutants into surface water.

The Tijuana River Valley is a rural community in the southern section of San Diego, California. It neighbors Imperial Beach to the north and west, Egger Highlands and Nestor to the north, San Ysidro to the east, and the U.S.-Mexico border to the south. Major thoroughfares include Hollister Street, Monument Road, and Dairy Mart Road.

Goat Canyon (Tijuana River Valley) Canyon in the Mexican state of Baja California and the US state of California

Goat Canyon also known as Cañón de los Laureles, begins in Tijuana, Mexico, and ends in the United States just north of the Mexico–U.S. border. The canyon is formed by Goat Canyon Creek, which receives water and other runoff from areas south of the border. Most of the canyon and its watershed lies within Baja California.

Smugglers Gulch Canyon located in the U.S. state of California and the Mexican state of Baja California

The Smuggler's Gulch is part of a steep walled canyon about 2 miles (3.2 km) inland of the Pacific Ocean. The canyon crosses the Mexico–United States border, between Tijuana, Baja California, and San Diego, California, and Smuggler's Gulch is the part of the canyon on the US side of the border. It may also be called Cañón del Matadero or Valle Montezuma in Spanish, but these names apply more generally to the whole canyon. Smuggling activities within Smuggler's Gulch have occurred since the 19th century, giving this part of the canyon its name.

San José–Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility

The San José–Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility is a wastewater treatment plant located in the Alviso neighborhood of San Jose, California. The facility treats 110 million U.S. gallons of wastewater per day, with a capacity of up to 167 million U.S. gal/d (630 ML/d), making it the largest tertiary treatment plant in the western United States. It serves 1.5 million residents and over 17,000 business facilities in eight cities. The 2,600-acre (1,100 ha) site is operated by the San Jose Environmental Services Department and jointly owned by the cities of San Jose and Santa Clara. It began operations in 1956 to address severe water pollution issues and played a key role in San Jose's aggressive annexation program during the 1950s and 1960s.

References

  1. ↑ "International Wastewater Treatment Plant". Water-Technology.net. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  2. ↑ Smith, Joshua Emerson (27 May 2019). "Sewage flows from Tijuana completely shutter Imperial Beach shoreline". The Morning Call. Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  3. 1 2 Mydans, Seth. "U.S. and Mexico Take On a Joint Burden: Sewage". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-09-08.
  4. 1 2 3 "Wastewater Treatment Plants". www.ibwc.gov. Retrieved 2018-09-08.
  5. ↑ Board, San Diego Regional Water Quality Control. "International Wastewater Treatment Plant | San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board". www.waterboards.ca.gov. Retrieved 2018-09-08.
  6. ↑ Ong, Jermaine (12 February 2018). "Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina speaks out after latest Tijuana sewage spill". ABC 10 News. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
  7. ↑ "South Bay IWTP". www.ibwc.gov. Retrieved 2018-09-08.
  8. ↑ "International Wastewater Treatment Plant, Tijuana, Mexico - Water Technology". Water Technology. Retrieved 2018-09-08.

Coordinates: 32°32′34″N117°03′50″W / 32.54284°N 117.0638°W / 32.54284; -117.0638


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.