New Mega Sewage Treatment Plant in Tijuana

Construction of the “Monte de Los Olivos” Treatment Plant, in addition to the “La Morita” and “El Tecolote” plants, will collectively treat 100% of Tijuana’s sewage water for the next ten years.

This would put Tijuana in second place after Mexicali for the treatment of its entire volume of sewage water. The national average barely reaches 22% of treatment of wastewater.

The treatment facility will be built near the cemetery by the same name, near the Vía Rápida El Refugio, and will process wastewater of around 233,000 residents from 13 neighborhoods.

Construction is expected to be complete by 2008, just as the other two plants. It will utilize the latest technology for processing black waters. Instead of using chlorine it will use ultraviolet rays to clean the wastewater in a three-step process. First, the processes of filtering sand. Second, allowing sediment to become a muddy substance that is transferred to Punta Bandera. Third, the final cleaning and sanitation procedure.

The U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and Mexico’s National Water Commission CILA (Comisión Internacional de Límites y Aguas) have personnel at the construction site overseeing its progress. Residual treated water will end up at the Río Tijuana and a collector that cost $45 million pesos to build.
Funding for the plant comes from Crédito Japonés (Japanese Credit), the North American Development Bank (created by NAFTA) and the EPA, making it possible for the treatment plant to process 460 liters of wastewater per second.
The process for treatment is basically biological based on an activated muddy substance that is aerated, and then removal of nitrites and phosphorous takes place. This level of treatment allows the resulting water, which is useful for watering and for use in some industrial applications.

There are plans for using treated water for watering of green areas in the Río Zone of Tijuana as well as some garden areas of Otay. The rest of the treated water will be pumped to the Presa (Dam) Abelardo Rodríguez to help create a lake and recreation area.

Some businesses have already adopted the use of treated water in their manufacturing plants.