Newsom opens millions of dollars of voter-approved funding to help
address Tijuana River pollution
[June 13, 2026]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday he is making
available $46 million in voter-approved funding to help clean up
cross-border pollution in the chronically contaminated Tijuana River and
the New River at the California-Mexico border.
Since 2018, more than 100 billion gallons (378 billion liters) of raw
sewage filled with industrial chemicals and trash have poured into the
Tijuana River, according to the International Boundary and Water
Commission. The United States and Mexico signed an agreement last year
to clean up the longstanding problem by upgrading wastewater plants to
keep up with Tijuana’s population growth and industrial waste from
factories, many owned by U.S. companies.
For years, tens of thousands of people have and continue to be exposed
to the sewage. During a February visit to San Diego, Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said it will take a couple of
years to fix one of the nation’s worst and longest-running environmental
crises that affects largely low-income Latino communities.
“People in San Diego County shouldn’t have to worry about getting sick,
losing access to their beaches, and living with polluted air,” Newsom, a
Democrat, said in a news release.
The New River flows north across the border through the city of Calexico
to the Salton Sea about 60 miles away (about 97 kilometers). The water
that enters the U.S. contains raw sewage and other pollution from
industrial, domestic and agricultural sources.
The funding will come from Proposition 4, a $10 billion bond measure
approved in 2024 to fund water, climate, wildfire and natural resource
projects across the state. At least 40% of the money is supposed to be
spent on communities hardest hit by climate change and environmental
pollution.
The funding will be made available as competitive grants for projects
that reduce bacteria and trash, address public health issues related to
the cross-border pollution and support mitigation and restoration.
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The raw, foul-smelling sewage from
the Tijuana River that empties into the Pacific Ocean also emits
hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas that can erode neurons in the nose and
trigger asthma attacks, and cause symptoms such as headaches,
nausea, cough, shortness of breath, skin and eye irritation,
according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Its long-term health problems are only starting to be understood.
“This funding is desperately needed. Certainly every dollar we can
secure to address the Tijuana River crisis is a big help,” said
Phillip Musegaas, executive director of the San Diego Coastkeeper,
an environmental nonprofit in Southern California. “Unfortunately,
this funding is really just a small portion of what’s needed to
fully address the crisis."
He added: “We need more federal funding to fix and expand the
wastewater infrastructure that is now under stress and is often
failing or inadequate to treat all the sewage that’s being
generated.”
In Thursday's announcement, Newsom called on the Trump
administration again to find a permanent fix.
“California has stepped up repeatedly, but we can’t solve a
decades-long federal failure on our own," Newsom said in the
release. “The Trump administration must do its part, honor its
commitments, and finally deliver the lasting solutions this
community deserves, and they have a moral obligation to provide.”
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