To contribute to responsible water use, Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda and the Federal Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, visited the San Antonio de los Buenos Wastewater Treatment Plant (PTAR) to inspect progress on its construction and rehabilitation.
Bárcena Ibarra praised the PTAR rehabilitation, calling it a vital solution in Mexico’s collaboration with U.S. environmental authorities to address the issue of wastewater in Tijuana that flows into Imperial Beach.
“Precisely today, on Earth Day, we celebrate technological solutions like this plant. We encourage citizens to join us in the effort, as President Sheinbaum has instructed, to clean the country and restore our environment,” she said.
Governor Marina del Pilar reaffirmed her administration’s commitment to water conservation projects such as the PTAR, which received an investment of over 776 million pesos. Once works are concluded, this plant will have the capacity to treat 800 liters of water per second, benefiting 454,000 people in Tijuana.
She emphasized that projects like the PTAR rehabilitation are crucial for both Baja California and the region as a whole, and that significant progress has already been made.
“We are thankful to President Claudia Sheinbaum for supporting this project, which was initiated during former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration. We remain committed to pushing forward such large-scale projects, always with our hearts in the right place,” the governor stated.
The PTAR is one of the few plants to feature an advanced automation system that measures sludge, nitrate, oxygen levels, and flow rates, allowing operators to take timely action when facing issues like leaks.
Works on the plant included improvements to the pre-treatment facilities, pump station, electrical substations, discharge area, control rooms, laboratories, and chlorination facilities.
Felipe Zataráin, director of Conagua; General Raúl Manzano Vélez, resident engineer of the project; Baja California’s Secretary of Environment, Mónica Vega; Arturo Espinoza, the state’s Secretary of Infrastructure, Urban Development, and Environment; and Kurt Honold, Baja California’s Secretary of Economy and Innovation, also joined the tour.
