Pilot Project Using Bubbles To Clean Sewage From Tijuana River Scrapped Deemed a Failure

The International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) acknowledged criticism of its project to clean up sewage and chemical contamination in the Tijuana River with "nano-bubbles" after it was swept away in a recent storm.

Border Report noted that the project was launched in September, but critics say the method has not been proven effective or safe for humans.

"I can't believe they would do that without ever having run the test; they were going to just do it in the middle of the community, no one was going to know," atmospheric chemist Kim Prather told the outlet.

The federal agency in charge of the project said its evaluating data collected and will provide results soon.

However, Phillip Musegaas, Executive Director for San Diego Coastkeeper, said the entity "didn't do a lot of testing of what was actually going to be released into the air once this system was running."

"The intention was good, they tried to reduce the sewer gases that are causing all these health impacts but the execution was pretty poor and they allowed it to be destroyed under really ridiculous circumstances," he added.

California officials have been requesting authorities for answers about the matter for years. Earlier this in July, state lawmakers asked the Trump administration to declare a state of emergency as a result.

Later that month, Mexico and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding that includes clear steps to address pollution caused from sewage poured into the Tijuana River.