15 hours ago
7
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
The agreement addresses a longstanding problem that has sickened people in both countries.
July 25, 2025Updated 2:05 p.m. ET
The United States and Mexico signed an agreement on Thursday to end the flow of raw sewage into the Tijuana River, which crosses the border into California and for years has contaminated and closed beaches and caused illnesses in both countries.
The environmental cooperation comes at a time when the two countries have been otherwise sparring on issues like tariffs, immigration and drug trafficking.
Every day, millions of gallons of sewage flow into the Tijuana River starting in Mexico and ending in California, where the polluted water is dumped in the ocean. The sewage frequently overwhelms wastewater treatment plants in both countries. The problem has worsened in recent years as Tijuana’s population has grown, treatment plants in both countries have fallen into disrepair, and climate change has fueled increasingly strong storms.
Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, who traveled to Mexico to sign the memorandum of understanding with Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, Mexico’s environment secretary, wrote in a statement that the countries are aiming for a “permanent, 100% solution.”
Under the deal, Mexico agreed to complete an allocation of $93 million toward sanitation infrastructure, and complete all projects by Dec. 31, 2027, the E.P.A. said. The United States, which had withheld funds for water infrastructure improvements on the border, will release money to complete the rehabilitation of a pump station and other projects.
