While improvements to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant in San Diego
have begun, local officials stress more money will be needed to stop the raw sewage overflow problem in the cross-border area.
Satya Rhodes-Conway, Madison, Wis., mayor and chair of the 750-member Climate Mayors group, noted the Biden administration's 'historic climate investments,' including for desalination and water recycling in western states.
The agency that operates the plant is preparing to undertake $8 million in repairs, in addition to previously planned projects estimated to cost hundreds of millions more.
Torrential rain brought by Storm Daniel and poor maintenance of two aging, clay-core embankment dams near Derna, a coastal city, are key factors, experts say.
Rebuilding the walls, which date to the late 1800s and early 1900s, would better protect areas along the Potomac River and Tidal Basin against water-level rise and storm surge.