The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unlocked approximately $6 million in reserves and is planning to spend a portion of that money on evaluating the first phase of a project to build a new treatment plant, separate from the existing South Bay plant, to capture and treat Tijuana River sewage flows. On Sept. 1, the board established the Tijuana River Capture and Cleanup Initiative with three phases to build a new treatment plant near the U.S.-Mexico border, at a starting cost of $1.8 million to evaluate options including past proposals. A county board letter about the initiative does not include a total price estimate nor where that money would come from or the treatment capacity for the plant and where it would be built. However, the letter says the first phase will consider a 2021 river diversion study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Related: 

• North County Pipeline: Blog: County advances plan for Tijuana River treatment facility