Repairs to Junction Box 1 don't sound like a big deal.
But they are.
Junction Box 1 is a critical part of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, and allows the plant to control the inflow of sewage from Mexico.
It's been damaged since 2021.
“Junction Box 1 is the front door of this treatment plant. Until we fix Junction Box 1, we really can’t build an expanded treatment plant or count on servicing an expanded collection system," explained David Gibson, the Executive Officer of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Gibson was speaking at a Monday groundbreaking to celebrate the beginning of repair work on Junction Box 1. The work to get it back online will help the plant meet its limit of 25-million gallons per day of treated sewage, which is what its operating permit requires.
At Monday's groundbreaking, Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre once again renewed her call for both the Biden Administration and Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency to bring more urgency in dealing with the crisis.
But California Secretary for Environmental Protection, Yana Garcia, said there is no need for such a declaration, and that the Newsom Administration is fully supportive of all efforts at repairing and expanding the plant.
"The truth is right now, there is nothing that would be unlocked by a declaration of a state of emergency and so the practical nature of making that declaration wouldn’t have an impact. What will have an impact is the ongoing advocacy that we have full funding for the expansion of this treatment facility," Garcia said.
But Aguirre said a declaration is worthwhile. She said her constituents have been suffering long enough, and that every conceivable thing needs to be done to speed the process along.
“There is a benefit to declaring a state of emergency and it’s sending a very clear signal to the White House, to President Biden, to the administration that this is a priority beyond just a letter, beyond just a visit that this is indeed a full blown public health crisis," she said.
The repair and rehabilitation of Junction Box 1 is just a part of an overall project to repair and expand the SBIWTP. Of the approximately $700-million needed, $400-million has been committed so far.
The repairs to JB1 are expected to be complete by the spring of next year.
