U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin was back in San Diego last week, meeting with residents, business owners, and local officials as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continues rolling out what the Trump administration is calling a permanent fix to the long-running Tijuana River sewage crisis.

For decades, untreated wastewater from across the border has flowed north into Southern California, forcing repeated beach closures, creating persistent odors, damaging sensitive ecosystems, and hurting local tourism. Health concerns have also grown, particularly among residents and military personnel who train in coastal waters affected by contamination.

“This has been a top priority for President Trump and I since my first visit to the San Diego area last April,” Zeldin said in a statement. “We’ve made incredible progress in accelerating infrastructure buildouts and getting Mexico to step up to the plate, but we know the work isn’t done.”

The administration’s approach centers on a series of binational agreements designed to speed up stalled wastewater projects and expand long-term capacity in the rapidly growing Tijuana region.

One of the most visible U.S. investments has been the expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, completed in August 2025. According to EPA officials, the upgraded facility can now treat an additional 10 million gallons of sewage per day that would otherwise enter the river. The agency says the work was finished far faster than originally scheduled.

On the Mexican side, recent efforts have focused on repairing aging infrastructure that has long allowed sewage to spill directly into the river channel. Projects underway include fixing damaged river gates, rehabilitating a major gravity pipeline that carries wastewater to coastal treatment plants, and redirecting treated effluent away from the river system.

Much of this work falls under a July 2025 memorandum of understanding between the two countries, built around three goals: unlocking previously committed Mexican funding, shortening project timelines, and adding new infrastructure to handle future population growth and maintenance needs.

That future-proofing element was expanded late last year through a follow-up agreement known as Minute 333. Among other steps, it creates a dedicated operations and maintenance fund at the North American Development Bank to help ensure new facilities remain functional over the long term. Mexico also committed to producing a regional water infrastructure master plan and studying major expansions to its coastal treatment capacity.

Additional projects include construction of a new sediment basin near the border to capture polluted runoff during storms and a new wastewater treatment plant in the Tecolote-La Gloria area, scheduled for completion by 2028.

Supporters say the coordinated push is finally bringing momentum to a problem that has lingered for generations.

Local leaders in San Diego County have repeatedly called for faster action, pointing to economic losses from closed beaches and rising public health concerns. Environmental groups, while encouraged by new infrastructure spending, have stressed the need for long-term oversight to ensure projects are maintained and upgraded as the region continues to grow.

Cross-border cooperation has also faced challenges in the past, with funding delays, shifting political priorities, and aging systems undermining earlier cleanup efforts.

Zeldin acknowledged that the crisis won’t disappear overnight but framed the recent agreements as a turning point.

“The raw sewage flow from Mexico has caused real harm to communities for far too long,” he said. “Our goal is to stop it for good.”

Whether the accelerated timelines and new maintenance commitments can deliver lasting relief remains to be seen. For residents along the coast, progress is welcome, but many say the real test will be whether clean water becomes the norm instead of a temporary victory after each round of repairs.

For now, federal officials are betting that faster construction, stronger binational coordination, and planning for future growth can finally turn one of the region’s most persistent environmental headaches into a solved problem.