Latest news with #sewagecrisis
E&E News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- E&E News
California sewage crisis bubbles up in key House race
A cross-border sewage crisis affecting Southern California could play a role in a prominent congressional race, where a Republican challenger has become a national figure on the issue. Jim Desmond, a San Diego County supervisor, has been sounding the alarm recently on Fox News and other conservative outlets about the untreated sewage that's been flowing from the Tijuana River in Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, contaminating the water and sickening residents. At the same time, he's seeking to unseat Rep. Mike Levin, accusing the Democratic incumbent of not doing enough to protect residents. 'We need to put more leverage on Mexico,' Desmond said in a recent interview. Advertisement Levin counters that Desmond is a Johnny-come-lately on the matter, though he has praised the Trump administration for taking action.
Fox News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
LIV Golf star Phil Mickelson adds his reaction to deepening sewage crisis in San Diego
LIV Golf star Phil Mickelson reacted on social media as a local California lawmaker talked about millions of gallons of sewage being dumped from Mexico into the water near San Diego. San Diego County District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond spoke at a recent meeting about beaches around the historic Hotel Del being closed during Memorial Day weekend. He also mentioned Navy SEALs and other towns being affected by the sewage crisis from Mexico. Desmond said in the meeting that the only solution is for Mexico to build and maintain a treatment facility. "Over Memorial Day weekend, beaches near the Hotel Del were shut down—again—because Mexico is dumping up to 10 million gallons of sewage into our waters every day," Desmond added on X on Tuesday. "Our Navy SEALs are getting sick. Imperial Beach has been closed for three years straight. We're paying 80% to treat Mexico's sewage while they ignore decades of agreements and do nothing to fix their infrastructure. "I introduced a common-sense proposal to apply pressure—including restricting border activity during health emergencies—until Mexico takes responsibility. Unfortunately, my colleagues voted it down, not wanting to pressure Mexico. San Diegans deserve better. I'm not backing down." Mickelson appeared to have his antenna up on the issue as well. "Something about this doesn't smell right," he wrote in response to Desmond's post. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said last month the U.S. and Mexico were on the verge of a deal regarding the sewage issue. "This week, EPA transmitted to Mexico a proposed '100% solution' that would PERMANENTLY END the decades-old crisis of raw sewage flowing in to the U.S. from Mexico. Next, technical groups from both nations will be meeting to work through the details necessary to hopefully reach an urgent agreement," Zeldin wrote on X in May. Zeldin visited San Diego in April, where he announced talks with his government counterparts in Mexico to end the decades-long issue. The problem, blamed on outdated wastewater infrastructure, has persisted for decades but has spiraled in recent years as Tijuana's population skyrocketed. In February, the Department of Defense's inspector general released a report finding that the Naval Special Warfare Center reported 1,168 cases of acute gastrointestinal illnesses among SEAL candidates between January 2019 and May 2023 that were attributed to the contaminated water. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
News24
28-05-2025
- Business
- News24
WASTE LAND: Rand Water forms new entity, takes charge of stricken Emfuleni's water works
Rand Water is permanently taking over Emfuleni's bulk water and sanitation service through a special-purpose vehicle. Emfuleni will transfer its sewage and water infrastructure to the Vaal Water Corporation in exchange for a stake in the special-purpose vehicle. The Vaal Water Corporation will collect water and sewage revenue from customers, bypassing the municipality's collapsed systems. For secure, anonymous communication with News24's Investigations team, click here. Rand Water has partnered with the Emfuleni Local Municipality to form a new special-purpose vehicle (SPV) to permanently take over the running and maintenance of the bulk water and sewage infrastructure in the Gauteng municipality. For the past four years, the water utility has been assisting the municipality in arresting a spiralling sewage pollution crisis and cleaning up sewage-covered streets and rivers. Rand Water will control and operate the new Vaal Water Corporation, permanently extending its mandate from the Department of Water and Sanitation to end the sewage pollution crisis caused by the collapse of municipal infrastructure. While both entities want a majority stake in the SPV, the exact ownership levels have not yet been finalised. When it became clear that the municipality's sewage infrastructure and capacity to provide the service had collapsed, Senzo Mchunu, then-minister of water and sanitation, intervened through Section 63 of the Water Services Act and appointed Rand Water to restore operations in 2021. He appointed Rand Water as the implementing agent. The total estimated cost of the intervention is R7.6 billion over a seven-year period, including completion of the major capital works, the department said in a statement attributed to Pemmy Majodina, the current minister. In the new venture, the stricken municipality will transfer its existing bulk infrastructure - including four wastewater treatment plants, 44 pump stations, more than 8 000km of sewer pipelines, freshwater infrastructure, and other assets - as its contribution in exchange for a major stake in the new entity. The municipality's more than R1.5 billion outstanding debt due to Rand Water will also form part of its contribution to funding the SPV. Other contributions would be the municipality and regional infrastructure's share of grant funding from the National Treasury and the customer base within the municipality's service area, said Emfuleni spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni. 'The municipality cannot operate and maintain its bulk water and sanitation infrastructure,' added Sipho Mosai, the chief executive officer of Rand Water. 'It has been hollowed out.' Under the department's guidance, Rand Water approached the municipality with the idea of forming the SPV for water and sanitation services, which requires the approval of the minister of finance. Majodina said: The establishment of the SPV will result in a professionally managed, dedicated utility with full responsibility and accountability for the provision of water and sanitation services in Emfuleni. The SPV will collect sanitation revenue from the municipality's customers, while Emfuleni will retain its status as the water authority responsible for setting water tariffs and the water licence, which will be transferred to Vaal Water. For more than 10 years, Emfuleni has been experiencing a sewage pollution crisis caused by its failure to maintain and repair infrastructure. This has resulted in sustained raw sewage spilling from broken pipes, flowing through the streets into the river system, negatively affecting residents' living conditions. The municipality, located in the south of Gauteng, borders the Free State on the Vaal River and is home to more than a million people. During the past five years, the municipality's collapsed capacity caused it to forfeit and return more than R640 million in unspent municipal infrastructure grants to the National Treasury. All four Emfuleni wastewater treatment plants and most of the 44 sewer pump stations had fallen into disrepair. The resulting sewage crisis heavily polluted critical and strategic natural water sources such as the Vaal River, which South Africa's industrial heartland of Gauteng, Free State and Mpumalanga relies on for water. Four years later, a visit to the area revealed that sewage pollution had been significantly reduced, and all four wastewater treatment plants were working. The problem has not yet been fully resolved, but significant demonstrable progress has been made. Rand Water carried out a major refurbishment of the Leeuwkuil Wastewater Treatment Plant over the past three years, replacing stolen electrical cables and installing new pipes to replace the collapsed 60-year-old infrastructure. This includes the replacement of 50 collapsed sewer lines. The Leeuwkuil plant is now operating at half its 36 megalitre capacity, from a standstill three years ago. Work currently under way would take its operations to full capacity over the next two years, said Justice Maluleke, the department's head of infrastructure in Gauteng. A contractor has been appointed to carry out the capacity expansion. Maluleke said Rand Water had overseen the construction of the R1-billion Sebokeng Wastewater Treatment Plant, which currently processes 150 megalitres of sewage a day, including a load from the City of Johannesburg. The plant has a design capacity of 200 megalitres. Rand Water has restored all 44 pump stations through major mechanical equipment upgrades. Thahasello Mphatsoe/News24 To achieve this, Rand Water employed more than 80 people and contractors to work on the sewer infrastructure and acquired 36 vehicles and machinery. The assets are registered in the name of Rand Water and the department to reduce the risk of being attached by the municipality's other unpaid creditors. Plants have armed security teams guarding them round the clock, curbing the vandalism associated with cable and scrap metal theft. According to spokesperson Makenosi Maroo, Rand Water's interventions at the pump stations and pipelines have cost about R900 million. While the interventions have had the desired overall impact, the residents of Kanana section in Evaton still grapple with sewage spilling into their homes from blocked pipelines 20 years on. Rand Water said the solution was to replace the pipeline with a bigger pipe as population growth rendered the original pipelines inadequate for the load. As a temporary relief measure, the municipality will prioritise the flushing of the pipeline with a mechanical sucker while it secures funds to replace the pipe.
Fox News
11-05-2025
- Health
- Fox News
US one step closer to ‘100%' deal with Mexico ending decades-long sewage crisis gripping vacation hotspot: EPA
The U.S. and Mexico are one step closer to permanently ending a sewage crisis spewing from across the border into waters off the coast of San Diego, Environmental Protection Agency chief Lee Zeldin announced. "This week, EPA transmitted to Mexico a proposed '100% solution' that would PERMANENTLY END the decades-old crisis of raw sewage flowing in to the U.S. from Mexico. Next, technical groups from both nations will be meeting to work through the details necessary to hopefully reach an urgent agreement," Zeldin posted to X on Friday. Zeldin visited San Diego last month, where he announced talks with his government counterparts in Mexico to end the decades-long issue. The problem, blamed on outdated wastewater infrastructure, has persisted for decades, but has spiraled in recent years as Tijuana's population skyrocketed. The sewage water has not only threatened San Diego's massive tourism industry and local residents, but also poses a national security risk as it pollutes the waters where U.S. Navy SEAL members and candidates train, Fox Digital previously reported. The U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command is headquartered in San Diego and is where Navy SEAL candidates complete their arduous six-month Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. In February, the Department of Defense's inspector general released a report finding that the Naval Special Warfare Center reported 1,168 cases of acute gastrointestinal illnesses among SEAL candidates between January 2019 and May 2023 that were attributed to the contaminated water. Veterans who spoke to Fox News Digital in April described the contaminated water as a national security crisis. "This is a huge national crisis," Navy SEAL vet Jeff Gum, who was sickened by the water when he was working through SEAL training in 2008, told Fox Digital in a Zoom interview last month. "Like half the SEAL teams are located in San Diego; the other half are in Virginia Beach. So when you've got half the SEAL teams who are getting exposed to this, then it's a major issue." Zeldin said last month that he and his counterparts in Mexico had launched good-faith talks to update infrastructure and water management facilities, adding that he zeroed in on the "specifics," including drafting a "comprehensive list of everything that we believe with full confidence is going to end the crisis" on both the U.S. side of the border and Mexico's. "Now, if you don't do all of the other projects and all you do is clean up the current contamination, that feel-good moment will last about a day," Zeldin said during a press conference in San Diego last month. "We have to stop the flow in. Mexico needs to fulfill its part in cleaning up the contamination that they caused." MEXICO IS POISONING SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA IN A BORDER CRISIS ALMOST NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT"We need Mexico to not just commit to all the projects that will stop the flow, but in order to actually finish this project, they're going to need to commit to that final cleanup," he added. Zeldin first addressed the sewage problem in March before previewing the trip to take on the issue. "I was just briefed that Mexico is dumping large amounts of raw sewage into the Tijuana River, and it's now seeping into the U.S.," he posted to X on March 8. "This is unacceptable. Mexico MUST honor its commitments to control this pollution and sewage!" Local leaders have been sounding the alarm on the sewage problem. Imperial Beach's Mayor Paloma Aguirre sent a letter to Zeldin in March describing how the raw sewage has sparked one of "America's most horrendous environmental and public health disasters," as billions of gallons have polluted the Pacific Ocean since 2023 alone. "The toxic sewage coming across the border from Mexico into South San Diego County is among America's most horrendous environmental and public health disasters," Aguirre's March 3 letter to Zeldin, published online, reads. "Since 2023, over 31 billion gallons of raw sewage, polluted stormwater and trash have flowed across the Mexican border, down the Tijuana River, through the cities of San Diego and Imperial Beach and into the Pacific Ocean." "Our residents, are getting ill due to polluted air," the letter continued. "Workers, including Navy Seals training in the area, have been sickened on the job by waterborne and aerosolized diseases. Many homeowners have been forced to place air quality monitors on their property so they know whether or not it's safe to go outside. And the economic impact is profound, with the sewage crisis hurting area tourism, maritime industry jobs and local property values." San Diego is one of the nation's top cities for tourism – behind other national treasures such as New York City, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. – attracting roughly 32 million tourists to the city in 2024, the San Diego Tourism Authority previously reported. During his visit to San Diego last month, Zeldin vowed to bring an end to the issue as Californians run out of patience with the crisis. "The Americans on our side of the border who have been dealing with this… for decades, are out of patience," Zeldin said at a Tuesday press conference in San Diego. "There's no way that we are going to stand before the people of California and ask them to have more patience and just bear with all of us as we go through the next 10 or 20 or 30 years of being stuck in 12 feet of raw sewage and not getting anywhere." "So we are all out of patience," he continued. "There's a very limited opportunity. We're in good faith, both on the American side and also on the Mexican side, what's being communicated by the new Mexican president is an intense desire to fully resolve this situation."
