South Bay sewage plant approved for expansion: what this means

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- The San Diego Water Quality Board has approved a project to expand the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, aiming to address the ongoing border sewage crisis affecting local beaches.

The expansion will allow the plant to treat an additional 10 million gallons of wastewater per day, significantly reducing the amount of untreated sewage reaching the coast. This initiative is part of a series of fast-tracked projects designed to reopen beaches in Imperial Beach, which have faced closures due to high bacteria levels since 2021.

For decades, the South County coastline has been plagued by pollution from the Tijuana River and estuary, impacting air and odor quality in the region. The International Boundary and Water Commission, in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency, proposed the expansion as a solution earlier this year.

The project aims to eliminate up to 90% of untreated sewage reaching the coast, with officials noting that 9 out of 16 tasks required for the expansion are already complete. This progress is part of a new framework to achieve a concrete solution to the pollution crisis.

As the expansion project progresses, San Diego moves closer to reopening its impacted beaches, offering hope for improved environmental conditions and public health in the region.

FOX 5's Elizabeth Alvarez contributed to this report.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KSWB. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KSWB staff before being published.