Government to choose contractor to rebuild old sewage plant, Coronado mayor says

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- Shovels in the ground and clean water on the coast is what residents in the South Bay have been waiting to hear. This could be the beginning of the end of one of the worst environmental disasters in American history.

There's been a development in the ongoing Tijuana sewage crisis as the mayor of Coronado told FOX 5/KUSI Tuesday that in the next few weeks, the U.S. government is set to choose a contractor to design and rebuild the old sewage plant on the U.S. side of the border.

At the same time, the Mexican Army will be fixing a treatment plant on their side of the border.

"Later this summer, maybe early September, you are going to see the [International Boundary and Water Commission] award a design build contract. All the bids are in, so that will be awarded in September of this year. And then shovels will be in the ground almost immediately," said Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey.

With nearly $600 million now committed to fixing and doubling the size of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, it appears that money will finally be spent -- a light at the end of a long and nasty tunnel.

"We haven’t solved it yet, but the good news is that a solution is here and it's being worked on right now as we speak," Bailey said.

There's also currently movement on the Mexico side of the border. A broken down sewage treatment plant, dumping up to 40 million gallons per day, is currently getting fixed. On that side, they have the Army working on it.

"That water treatment plant has been completely dilapidated and out of service for many years now. The Mexican Army Corps of Engineers has been working on that around the clock, nonstop, and as recently as June of this year, they committed to flipping the switch and getting that plant operational as soon as October 1," said Bailey.

A slice of normal life was returning to the South Bay Tuesday, as the beaches of Coronado were finally clean enough to reopen.

"The good news here is that Mexico plans to flip their switch to turn on their wastewater treatment plant as soon as October 1. That source of pollution is what's largely responsible for the dry weather events where we have sewage impact in Imperial Beach and southern Coronado. By this time next year, you shouldn't see any advisory signs along our shores," Bailey said.

With help on the way from both sides of the border, this might be the time in history when this disaster takes a turn for the better.