The U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico (USIBWC) has awarded a $4,659,432 contract to Arcadis to start work on border water infrastructure along San Diego, Calif. and Tijuana, Baja California. The award marks an important milestone toward implementing a recently signed binational IBWC agreement known as Minute No. 328, “Sanitation Infrastructure Projects in San Diego, California – Tijuana, Baja California for Immediate Implementation and for Future Development,”
The contract will lay the groundwork to double the size of the USIBWC’s South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) in San Diego, which currently provides treatment to U.S. standards for 25 million gallons per day of wastewater from Tijuana. Under the Minute 328 agreement, this plant expansion is part of a package of projects in both countries expect to result in a 50 percent reduction in the number of days of transborder wastewater flow in the Tijuana River and an 80 percent reduction in the volume of untreated wastewater discharged to the Pacific Ocean six miles south of the border.
“This is an important first step to fix the region’s border sanitation problem,” says IBWC’s U.S. Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner. “This work will prepare us to use available funds efficiently and to move quickly to the next phase – design and construction of the expanded treatment plant. I am committed to transparency in how we implement this project and to keep our stakeholders informed.”
Under the contract, Arcadis will:
- Determine required upgrades and repairs to the existing plant
- Provide professional recommendation on the maximum size of the plant expansion with available funding
- Review and recommend the best procurement method for design and construction of the plant and any required upgrades to the existing plant
- Prepare design and construction cost estimates
- Prepare a detailed project scope of work for the plant expansion
This Phase 1 pre-design work will enable USIBWC to solicit bids for design of the SBIWTP expansion by summer 2023. The contractor may also provide Program Management and deliverable reviews as part of the Design and Construction phases.
The SBIWTP expansion is a major element of the Minute 328 projects, which also include constructing a new treatment plant in Mexico and rehabilitating and replacing aging sewer lines and pump stations in Tijuana.
