Baja California legislator Evelyn Sánchez Sánchez has proposed a technical legislative committee to address Tijuana’s chronic water supply problems. The state congress approved her exhortation, which calls for a consultative body to coordinate between state and municipal water authorities.
The committee would bring together the heads of CESPT (Comisión Estatal de Servicios Públicos de Tijuana), SEPROA (Secretaría de Protección al Ambiente), the Tijuana mayor’s office, and municipal planning and civil protection agencies. Its mandate: gather diagnostics on the city’s water infrastructure, track progress on repairs, and develop sustainable solutions.
No New Authority, but a Formal Oversight Tool
The proposed body would not create a new government agency. Instead, it would give state legislators a formal mechanism to monitor water service conditions and inform future budget and policy decisions. That distinction matters in a state where coordination between agencies has often been a bottleneck.
Tijuana’s water infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with the city’s rapid population growth. The municipality is home to roughly two million people, and its industrial and manufacturing economy, driven largely by the maquiladora sector, places heavy demands on water systems built for a much smaller city.
Daily Disruptions for Residents
Residents across Tijuana regularly face service interruptions, low water pressure, and pipe leaks. Some neighborhoods go days without reliable service, forcing families to rely on private water trucks (pipas) that can cost 500 to 1,000 pesos (roughly $28 to $56 USD) per delivery. Aging pipelines and insufficient reservoir capacity compound the problem during dry months.
The water crisis on the Mexican side of the border exists alongside a related but distinct problem on the U.S. side. Untreated wastewater from Tijuana has flowed across the border through the Tijuana River for decades, prompting San Diego County officials to secure $600 million in federal funding to upgrade the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant. In 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin signed a memorandum of understanding with Mexico committing to “a permanent, 100% solution” to the cross-border sewage crisis.
What Comes Next
With the legislature’s approval of Sánchez’s proposal, the next step is for the named agencies to respond and begin organizing the committee’s structure. If functional, the body could lay groundwork for targeted state budget allocations toward pipeline replacement, reservoir expansion, and leak repair across Tijuana’s water network.
This story was first reported by La Jornada Baja California.