Arizona is desperate for water. So much so that its taxpayers are willing to invest in treating Tijuana’s sewage so it’s drinkable.
How would that help Arizona? The state would ask Mexico for some of its Colorado River water in exchange.
That’s a plan proposed by EPCOR, a private Canadian water utility. The Arizona state legislature granted $1 billion to the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona, or WIFA, to jumpstart projects that could make new water, like the one proposed in the Tijuana River Valley.
Under the proposal, Arizona could help build a wastewater-to-drinking water facility (like the one San Diego is building called Pure Water) at the federally-owned South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant or the city-owned South Bay Water Reclamation Plant. The cleaned sewage water would be sent back to Mexico to a reservoir in Tijuana which holds the city’s drinking water supplies.
EPCOR’s Tijuana River project idea is one of seven WIFA contracted with private companies to explore. Companies with winning projects selected by WIFA’s board now must prove they are feasible, which could take 18 to 24 months, said Ben Alteneder, WIFA’s assistant director for external affairs.
“Anything we do needs to be win-win for whatever community we’re working with. That’s what this phase is designed to do — determine whether or not this is a viable concept moving forward,” Alteneder said.
It’s not the first time someone thought to treat the Tijuana River and sell the water back to Mexico. One of the first stories I ever wrote on the sewage crisis revealed that U.S. and Mexican companies wanted to do the same thing back in 2020.
It’s a pretty complicated solution, though. Right now, Tijuana sends a portion of its sewage to San Diego for treatment at the international plant, which is then sent into the Pacific Ocean.
But once that Mexican sewage hits U.S. soil, it becomes California water, as I wrote back in 2021. Because the water gets polluted in Mexico, the United States doesn’t know what’s in it. So a local U.S. government, the state or feds — or even a private company — could take on the task of treating it, but they would also take on the liability should their water treatment strategy fail to pass strict U.S. water quality standards.
In its project proposal, EPCOR wagers this water exchange could generate just over 14,000 acre feet per year as early as 2034. (An acre-foot is enough water for two California households for a year.) It could yield more than 200,000 acre feet per year after 15 years, according to project documents.
Arizona stands to lose 760,000 acre feet of Colorado River water in 2027 under another proposal forged with California and Nevada to ease pressure on the drought-stricken river. If the river’s basin experiences just one more dry year, the whole system is on track to “crash,” water experts told the Salt Lake Tribune.
None of the seven U.S. states or northern Mexico which depend on the Colorado River have agreed on how to share the drying waterbody. And previous rules the parties abided by are set to expire in just months.
WIFA representatives attended last week’s ceremony in Carlsbad commemorating Arizona, California, Nevada and the federal government’s commitment to explore how water might be sold across state lines by swapping Colorado River supplies. (Mexico was not represented.) The San Diego County Water Authority is eager to start selling water as soon as possible – given the region’s surplus. And it seems they have multiple potential willing buyers.
Alteneder said the legal framework for cross-border water trades is key to the success of their project proposals.
“Arizona doesn’t have ocean front property. Wherever we can find regional solutions that help the entire basin, that’s what our focus is,” he said.
Around the Environment:
- Imperial County voters rejected a data center-backed candidate for its water and power utility board. (KPBS)
- The Sierra Club sued Imperial County Board of Supervisors over its decision to greenlight the data center complex earlier this year. (KPBS)
- And now, Imperial County is considering a moratorium on data centers. (inewsource)
- A tribe in Imperial County has proposed an alternative data center project as online gaming cuts into casino revenues. (inewsource)
- An activist investor group wants Sempra to ditch one of its biggest assets: Oncor, a Texas utility that operates one of the largest transmission and distribution systems in that state. (Union-Tribune)
- Nobody is happy with changes to a California climate investment program that adds 24 cents to the price of a gallon of gas. (Union-Tribune)
- New federal work and volunteering requirements for CalFresh or SNAP benefits could put thousands at risk of losing them. (NBC 7)
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