The federal government awarded a $1.1 million contract to an Ohio company to conduct a pilot project deploying a technology to kill bacteria and eliminate odors in the sewage-tainted Tijuana River. It failed, in large part because the company had never used the technology in an environment with such a large amount of solid waste pollution and with unpredictable changes in water flow. The company, Greenwater Services, uses a nanobubble ozone technology (NBOT) primarily to attack harmful algae blooms in slow-moving or still water, such as lakes and ponds. The project at the international border showed the company’s equipment was ill-prepared for the conditions that plague the region.

Other U.S.-Mexico water news:

• Border Report: San Diego County seeks funding for sewage-mitigation projects in Tijuana River Valley
• Eagle & Times (Coronado, Calif.): Progress made with funds for the Tijuana River Valley
• KPBS (San Diego): South County students bring faces of sewage crisis to Sacramento
• Mexico Business News: Experts call for sustainable funding for the Gulf of California