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U.S. and Mexico Sign Binding Pact to Stop Tijuana River Sewage

The pact establishes enforceable milestones to speed up wastewater upgrades, ending chronic pollution in Southern California waterways.

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin speaks next to Mexican Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, Alicia Barcena Ibarra, during the signing of the memorandum of understanding between U.S. and Mexico to achieve a permanent solution to the decades-old Tijuana River sewage crisis, in Mexico City, Mexico July 24, 2025. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha
Mexican Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, Alicia Barcena Ibarra, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin show the signed memorandum of understanding between U.S. and Mexico to achieve a permanent solution to the decades-old Tijuana River sewage crisis, in Mexico City, Mexico July 24, 2025. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha
Debris around a trash boom located in the Tijuana River Valley on Tuesday, July 1, 2025 in San Ysidro, California. (Ana Ramirez / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Overview

  • EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Mexican Environment Secretary Alicia Bárcena signed the memorandum of understanding in Mexico City on July 24, 2025.
  • Mexico agreed to allocate $93 million in 2026–27 under Minute 328 for water infrastructure rehabilitations including treatment channels and backup power.
  • The agreement mandates expedited construction schedules for 2026–27 projects and the negotiation of a new bilateral “minute” by December 31.
  • Immediate 2025 actions require Mexico to divert 10 million gallons per day of treated sewage upstream of the Rodríguez Dam and rehabilitate the Parallel Gravity Line.
  • The pact aims to stop billions of gallons of untreated wastewater from closing Southern California beaches and posing health and environmental risks.