Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Tijuana rain + garbage + rats = chaos

Planned water outage kicks in after the storm

A city worker attempts to clear a storm-drain grate
A city worker attempts to clear a storm-drain grate

Many Tijuana residents woke up on Wednesday (January 10th) to find garbage in the streets and no running water in their homes.

A pedestrian on Calle Segunda

The state’s water utility, known by its initials CESPT, had planned to suspend water service for two days starting January 10th, and they did: 284 neighborhoods — around 600,000 people — in Tijuana and Rosarito won’t have running water until January 12th.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The outage came after two days of heavy rain that left many parts of the city without electricity for several hours. The strong winds caused utility poles, trees, and billboards to topple while the heavy rain created landslides and waterfalls of black water carrying garbage.

The shutdown is to fix a leak that was discovered a year ago on the “Aguaje-Planetario” aqueduct. The leak became a crisis last week as more than 13 gallons of potable water were spilled per second.

“We need to suspend the flow of water so the workers can access the pipes,” said CESPT director Miguel Lemus Zendejas. “The repairs will take 15 hours concluding on early Thursday morning. The recovery of the system is slow.”

High winds brought down this sign

Some of the lower-elevation neighborhoods will get water by Thursday afternoon, but it won’t be until Friday evening for water to reach the higher parts. The repair to a mile-long 48-inch-wide pipe will cost 300,000 pesos (around $15,500).

Every time it rains, the city becomes chaotic: the streets become rivers, mudslides and car accidents occur, the Tijuana River is flushed with garbage, and polluted water flows across the border into Imperial Beach and Border Field State Park.

Somebody's driveway was undermined by flowing water.

The pollution problem is more pronounced this time due to a backlog of garbage pick-ups. Since the beginning of 2017, there had been ongoing disputes between the local government and garbage collectors, causing delays in pick-ups; in some neighborhoods, trash has not been collected in weeks. On December 29th, garbage collectors stopped working until the government met their demands of new uniforms (jackets, gloves, and boots) and a pay bonus. The city had mountains of garbage on the street with rats happily feasting after New Year's celebrations.

The strike ceased on January 3rd after the city reportedly promised to meet their demands by January 16th; however, pick-up has been irregular in many neighborhoods. I have witnessed workers picking up trash with their bare hands as rats scurry away into the sewers.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising
Next Article

Tigers In Cairo owes its existence to Craigslist

But it owes its name to a Cure tune and a tattoo
A city worker attempts to clear a storm-drain grate
A city worker attempts to clear a storm-drain grate

Many Tijuana residents woke up on Wednesday (January 10th) to find garbage in the streets and no running water in their homes.

A pedestrian on Calle Segunda

The state’s water utility, known by its initials CESPT, had planned to suspend water service for two days starting January 10th, and they did: 284 neighborhoods — around 600,000 people — in Tijuana and Rosarito won’t have running water until January 12th.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The outage came after two days of heavy rain that left many parts of the city without electricity for several hours. The strong winds caused utility poles, trees, and billboards to topple while the heavy rain created landslides and waterfalls of black water carrying garbage.

The shutdown is to fix a leak that was discovered a year ago on the “Aguaje-Planetario” aqueduct. The leak became a crisis last week as more than 13 gallons of potable water were spilled per second.

“We need to suspend the flow of water so the workers can access the pipes,” said CESPT director Miguel Lemus Zendejas. “The repairs will take 15 hours concluding on early Thursday morning. The recovery of the system is slow.”

High winds brought down this sign

Some of the lower-elevation neighborhoods will get water by Thursday afternoon, but it won’t be until Friday evening for water to reach the higher parts. The repair to a mile-long 48-inch-wide pipe will cost 300,000 pesos (around $15,500).

Every time it rains, the city becomes chaotic: the streets become rivers, mudslides and car accidents occur, the Tijuana River is flushed with garbage, and polluted water flows across the border into Imperial Beach and Border Field State Park.

Somebody's driveway was undermined by flowing water.

The pollution problem is more pronounced this time due to a backlog of garbage pick-ups. Since the beginning of 2017, there had been ongoing disputes between the local government and garbage collectors, causing delays in pick-ups; in some neighborhoods, trash has not been collected in weeks. On December 29th, garbage collectors stopped working until the government met their demands of new uniforms (jackets, gloves, and boots) and a pay bonus. The city had mountains of garbage on the street with rats happily feasting after New Year's celebrations.

The strike ceased on January 3rd after the city reportedly promised to meet their demands by January 16th; however, pick-up has been irregular in many neighborhoods. I have witnessed workers picking up trash with their bare hands as rats scurry away into the sewers.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Now what can they do with Encinitas unstable cliffs?

Make the cliffs fall, put up more warnings, fine beachgoers?
Next Article

Pie pleasure at Queenstown Public House

A taste of New Zealand brings back happy memories
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader