Tijuana Sewage Crisis: Cleaning Up Mexico's Mess in the South Bay
Every day, millions of gallons of untreated wastewater flow into the US from Mexico
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It all begins here…
Daily sewage flow
from Mexico: 100+ million gallons
from Mexico: 100+ million gallons
Daily South Bay
plant capacity: 35 million gallons
plant capacity: 35 million gallons
Daily untreated
overflow: 65+ million gallons
overflow: 65+ million gallons
San Diego Deserves the Truth
San Diego and the South Bay Deserve the Truth
For decades, residents of the South Bay and Baja California have lived with a devastating reality: millions of gallons of untreated wastewater from Mexico impacting their communities. The scope of this crisis is staggering. While Tijuana's population has surged and its borders sprawled, it has failed to build sufficient wastewater infrastructure while existing infrastructure has crumbled. The result? A daily deluge of raw sewage from Mexico that flows directly into the Tijuana River, the Estuary and the Pacific Ocean.
The result?
A daily deluge of raw sewage from Mexico that flows directly into the Tijuana River, the Estuary and the Pacific Ocean.
Imperial Beach
Chula Vista
Here's what's really happening
Mexico's Infrastructure Collapse
Tijuana's population has doubled since 1997, but critical wastewater infrastructure investments never materialized, with consequences on both sides of the border.
While the United States federal government opened the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in 1997 to handle cross-border flows of household wastewater, Mexico failed to expand or maintain its own treatment capacity and leaky sewage network to match Tijuana's explosive growth. For example, Mexico's San Antonio de los Buenos plant–a critical part of the region's sewer treatment system–was mostly offline for nearly five years, dumping billions of gallons of raw sewage into the ocean south of the border, which then traveled towards San Diego through ocean currents.
Today, Tijuana is a sprawling industrial city but operates with outdated, failing infrastructure designed for a much smaller city. Entire neighborhoods discharge waste directly into waterways, and storm drains carry untreated sewage every time it rains.
Veolia is the world leader in wastewater treatment and operates the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant as a contractor for the U.S. Government. Veolia fights a daily battle to treat incoming wastewater from Mexico, but most of it never reaches the plant. Over many years, Veolia has raised the alarm and called for decisionmakers to invest and upgrade the South Bay Plant. Most of these pleas fell on deaf ears, and the cause of the crisis, Mexico's infrastructure collapse, was not addressed for a long time.
While the United States federal government opened the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in 1997 to handle cross-border flows of household wastewater, Mexico failed to expand or maintain its own treatment capacity and leaky sewage network to match Tijuana's explosive growth. For example, Mexico's San Antonio de los Buenos plant–a critical part of the region's sewer treatment system–was mostly offline for nearly five years, dumping billions of gallons of raw sewage into the ocean south of the border, which then traveled towards San Diego through ocean currents.
Today, Tijuana is a sprawling industrial city but operates with outdated, failing infrastructure designed for a much smaller city. Entire neighborhoods discharge waste directly into waterways, and storm drains carry untreated sewage every time it rains.
Veolia is the world leader in wastewater treatment and operates the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant as a contractor for the U.S. Government. Veolia fights a daily battle to treat incoming wastewater from Mexico, but most of it never reaches the plant. Over many years, Veolia has raised the alarm and called for decisionmakers to invest and upgrade the South Bay Plant. Most of these pleas fell on deaf ears, and the cause of the crisis, Mexico's infrastructure collapse, was not addressed for a long time.
Tijuana
What the South Bay International
Wastewater Treatment Plant
Does
Does not
South Bay treatment plant
The Technical Reality: The South Bay plant was designed to process the household wastewater (not industrial effluent) that is funneled to it through a dedicated collection system. This is only a fraction of the wastewater that Mexico produces, much of which is discharged directly into the Tijuana River, the Estuary and the Pacific Ocean. This sewage never reaches the plant.
San Diego Leaders
Tell It Like It Is
Here's what local officials are saying about where this crisis actually starts.
Imperial Beach
tijuana river
“For decades, San Diego residents have endured the devastating consequences of untreated sewage flowing from Mexico into the Tijuana River Valley.”
Todd Gloria, Mayor of San Diego
Source
"Mexico needs to fulfill its part in cleaning up the contamination that they caused" and "must commit to all the projects that will stop the flow" and to "final cleanup".
Lee Zeldin, EPA Administrator
Source
“Unfortunately, communities in this area have been suffering real impacts from raw sewage coming across the border for far too long.”
Yana Garcia, Secretary for Environmental Protection at the California Environmental Protection Agency
SourceDon't be fooled by opportunistic lawyers
Lawsuits Hijack Money and
Time Away from Solutions
Suing the treatment plant operator won't improve the conditions for anyone - not in the U.S., and not in Mexico. In fact, it's a costly distraction slowing the real response to the crisis.
Most wastewater generated in Tijuana never reaches the South Bay plant. The overwhelming majority of sewage flows directly from Mexican sources into the Pacific Ocean or the Tijuana River, without ever touching the plant. Only a fraction of Tijuana's wastewater is sent to the South Bay plant through a dedicated collection system. Veolia operates critical infrastructure that treats this specific wastewater flow under very difficult conditions, fighting daily against a deluge that includes not just sewage but rocks, debris, mud (much of it from poorly maintained Mexican construction sites) and more (tires, trash etc.) that destroy plant equipment.
The lawyers targeting Veolia are peddling false solutions that won't fix anything. The real crisis requires joint work with Mexico and massive infrastructure investment on both sides of the border. Suing the treatment plant operator won't stop a single gallon of Mexican sewage from reaching the United States and the Pacific Ocean. Suing the treatment plant operator won't improve the conditions for anyone - not in the US, and not in Mexico.
Most wastewater generated in Tijuana never reaches the South Bay plant. The overwhelming majority of sewage flows directly from Mexican sources into the Pacific Ocean or the Tijuana River, without ever touching the plant. Only a fraction of Tijuana's wastewater is sent to the South Bay plant through a dedicated collection system. Veolia operates critical infrastructure that treats this specific wastewater flow under very difficult conditions, fighting daily against a deluge that includes not just sewage but rocks, debris, mud (much of it from poorly maintained Mexican construction sites) and more (tires, trash etc.) that destroy plant equipment.
The lawyers targeting Veolia are peddling false solutions that won't fix anything. The real crisis requires joint work with Mexico and massive infrastructure investment on both sides of the border. Suing the treatment plant operator won't stop a single gallon of Mexican sewage from reaching the United States and the Pacific Ocean. Suing the treatment plant operator won't improve the conditions for anyone - not in the US, and not in Mexico.
Veolia operates critical infrastructure that treats wastewater under very difficult conditions, fighting daily against a deluge of waste that includes not just sewage but rocks, debris, and mud--much of it from Mexican construction sites--that destroy plant equipment.
The lawyers targeting Veolia are peddling false solutions that won't fix anything.
The real crisis requires joint work with Mexico and massive infrastructure investment on both sides of the border. Suing the treatment plant operator won't stop a single gallon of Mexican sewage from reaching San Diego's waters.
The Solution Requires Truth
The Solution Requires Truthfulness and Working Together
Real progress is finally happening. In July 2025, Mexico and the United States signed a historic agreement to “permanently and urgently end the decades-long Tijuana River Sewage Crisis.” Under the agreement, Mexico commits to funding much-needed works. The agreement establishes an accelerated timeline for current and future infrastructure projects. The agreement follows U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin's visit to San Diego in April 2025 where he demanded a 100% solution from Mexico. Congress has fully funded a $600 million South Bay plant expansion to double treatment capacity by 2029, and the U.S. government hopes to move completion to 2027 if it can cut through red tape and speed up construction. As the operator, Veolia is not a recipient of the these funds, which are destined to specialist contractors.
The lawsuits against Veolia create a harmful distraction from addressing the real sources of pollution that continue flowing from Mexico.
Cooperation between both countries continues to deliver results. In December 2025, IBWC and EPA announced Minute 333, a significant agreement between Mexico and the United States providing for further action to address the sewage crisis including infrastructure planning, financing, monitoring and increased cooperation.
The lawsuits against Veolia create a harmful distraction from addressing the real sources of pollution that continue flowing from Mexico.
Cooperation between both countries continues to deliver results. In December 2025, IBWC and EPA announced Minute 333, a significant agreement between Mexico and the United States providing for further action to address the sewage crisis including infrastructure planning, financing, monitoring and increased cooperation.
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