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Large sewage spill in Tijuana, Mexico, flows north of border

Posted at 1:52 PM, Feb 25, 2017
and last updated 2019-03-26 15:44:04-04

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Officials in Southern California are crying foul after more than 140 million gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Tijuana River in Mexico and flowed north of the border for more than two weeks.

A report released Friday by the International Boundary and Water Commission says the spill was caused Feb. 2 by an apparent rupture in a sewage collector pipe and wasn't contained until Thursday. The river drains into the Pacific Ocean on the U.S. side of the border.

Serge Dedina, the mayor of Imperial Beach, California, says residents of his city and other communities just north of the border have complained about a growing stench.

Dedina criticized federal officials on both sides of the border for not alerting people to the spill.

Officials with the international water commission didn't return calls seeking comment Saturday.