Tijuana and Rosarito residents may have gotten a brief reprieve from scheduled water shut-offs, but the delivery of water throughout Baja California is a vulnerable system in need of urgent repairs, state and water officials stressed this week.
Like San Diego, Tijuana gets most of its water supply — at least 95 percent — from the Colorado River. It’s delivered through a single aqueduct that carries the water all the way across the state, including up and over La Rumorosa, a mountain pass more than 4,000 feet above sea level.
A two-minute video by the state’s water commission illustrates how far the water from the Colorado River is transported by a 87-mile long aqueduct from Mexicali to Tijuana. The water is then funneled to different areas of the city through seven pipelines supplied by the El Florido Water Treatment Plant in eastern Tijuana.
“It really is a very significant engineering feat; quite complex, and requires significant maintenance and is subject to potential interruptions,” said Paul Ganster, a professor and director of the Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias at San Diego State University.
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Ganster studies the California-Baja border region, border politics, and quality-of-life indicators for the San Diego-Tijuana region, among other border topics.
He said the continuing growth of northern Baja, along with reduced deliveries from the Colorado River is something to be worried about.
“Long-term, I think it’s a very concerning situation in terms of water security for the coastal zone of Tijuana, Tecate, Rosarito and Ensenada,” said Ganster.
Recent rains and a two-week water rationing program for Tijuana and Rosarito helped restore the gravely low El Carrizo dam and reservoir in between Tecate and Tijuana, but water officials in Baja California stressed Tuesday that the situation remains critical.
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The water shut-offs were implemented Nov. 12 in order to allow time for the recovery of the El Carrizo dam by pumping the Colorado River aqueduct that runs from Mexicali to Tijuana, according to the Baja California Public Service Commission, or CESPT.
The rotating water shut-offs affected 1 million water users, said Alejandro Godina, a spokesman for CESPT.
The agency rotated the shutoffs on a schedule to different neighborhoods in Tijuana and Rosarito, trying to spread the burden. The goal was for each neighborhood to have their water shut off for a 24-hour period once every five days. The program left about 200,000 residents without water every day, according to Godina.
The director of the state commission, Rigoberto Laborín Valdez, said the shutoffs have been suspended for December to avoid further inconveniencing residents and businesses during the holiday season and as a reward for the patient cooperation from customers.
“It is a way to correspond to the good disposition shown by the users of the CESPT, in an exemplary effort of water care, which favored us in the recovery of levels in the El Carrizo dam. We trust that we will continue to have citizen support in this plan,” he said.
State and water officials warn that residents must continue to voluntarily conserve water. There is enough water to avoid shut-offs through December, but they could resume again in January.
Luis Granados Pacheco, the director of the State Water Commission, said Tuesday the El Carrizo dam had about 15.5 million cubic meters of water, which was up about 1.8 million cubic meters since the water rationing began.
“It’s a very important amount but we still need more,” said Granados. “This is a sample of the joint work (of the municipalities) and taking care of the details, and well, with a little help from the rains.”
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Granados stressed how vulnerable the system was after previous administrations had delayed engine repairs and neglected pump maintenance, leaving current officials in urgent need of replacing one pump and making other repairs that will cost about 27 million pesos or about $1.4 million U.S. dollars.
At a meeting Tuesday with Baja California’s Secretary General of Government Dr. Amado Rodríguez Lozano, the state water official showed a picture of one single battery that is nearing the end of its lifespan and overheating.
“If that battery shuts off, it powers the engine control center in such a way that it affects the valve system and they close off, which causes the pumps to shut down... " said Granados, stressing how much of the system was dependent on replacing aging equipment.
Rodríguez, Baja California’s Secretary General of Government, said the maintenance needed to be done immediately, so as not to jeopardize the water supply for the entire state.
Officials from various municipalities across Baja California agreed.
“We want the benefit to be for the citizen, for the people who put their key in the door, and what they want is for the water to reach their home; That is why we are working in a coordinated manner,” said Rodríguez.
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