1. THE BEST TREATMENT SOLUTION FOR THE REGION
The Bajagua Project exceeds the treatment capacity
of the adjacent “Hofer” site to the International
Wastewater Treatment Plant (IWTP) located on the United States,
by 34 million gallons per day, and is the only proposal that provides
for the expansion capability necessary to provide for treatment
of most if not all of the sewage impacting the United States across
the international border.
2. A PRIVATELY FINANCED PARTNERSHIP
The Bajagua Project can be built for a competitive
price and will provide the only opportunity for the U.S. Government
to eliminate the up front capital cost by utilizing a privately
financed partnership alternative. The financing of the project
will be provided entirely by the private sector and will be paid
for through a fee-for-services contract with the IBWC.
3. COMPETITIVE BIDDING FOR THE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION
& OPERATION OF THE PROJECT
The design, construction and operation of the
project will be competitively bid assuring low cost and appropriate
design. The process, managed in conjunction with the US IBWC and
CILA (the IBWC’s counterpart in Mexico) will be a two-step
process, commencing with a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to
short list qualified applicants, which would initiate a Request
for Proposals (RFP) process culminating in the selection of a
preferred bidder.
4. PROVIDES RECLAIMED WATER TO TIJUANA
The Bajagua Project provides a major benefit
to the City of Tijuana by making available reclaimed water. There
is an acute water shortage in Tijuana today and this project will
produce reclaimed water that can offset the City’s potable
use and help meet their water needs. In fact, at 59 mgd, the Bajagua
Project can meet more than 70% of Tijuana’s current water
demand and 85% of the demand increase in 20 years based on their
projected population growth.
4. MORE CAPACITY IN THE OUTFALL FOR U.S. NEEDS
The Bajagua Project will provide the additional
benefit to the City of San Diego and the United States because
in reclaiming the water it will ultimately avoid the discharge
of a major portion of the treated water to the ocean outfall.
This will free up capacity in the outfall pipe for the city and
the IBWC, which will be important for the region’s own future
local needs.
5. BUILT IN MEXICO, AT THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM
The Bajagua Project will be built in Mexico,
at the source of the problem, and give Mexico an important opportunity
to initiate the process of dealing with the international sewage
problem, on their own soil. In addition, the location in Mexico
provides the land mass necessary to size the plant to meet the
demand, and has the collateral benefit of being near the key business
zones in Tijuana who are most likely to be customers for the reclaimed
water.
6. OFFERS PRETREATMENT OF SEWAGE
Pre-treatment is an important aspect of the
sewage treatment process and the Bajagua Project provides the
most feasible means of funding and implementing a comprehensive
pretreatment program. In previous U.S. - based alternatives, size
constraints eliminated the opportunity for a pretreatment program,
which is considered essential to limiting toxic “spikes”
and is the best way to treat the sewage effectively.
7. BUILT QUICKER AND CHEAPER THAN PUBLIC ALTERNATIVES
The Bajagua Project will be financed, built
in, and operational 16 months from the date the contract is signed
with the IBWC. This timeframe is quicker and ultimately more cost
effective than any public built alternative, which would require
legislative action in Congress and new or revised environmental
documents. The Bajagua Project is also the only project that can
potentially meet the court ordered deadline of having a treatment
solution up and running by September 2008.
8. MEETS ALL CLEAN WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS
Even though the plant is in Mexico, the
regulatory process can be enforced and will be satisfied by the
contract between the IBWC and Bajagua. The Bajagua Project will
meet or exceed all U.S., California and Mexican clean water and
environmental standards and additionally will be monitored by
the responsible U.S. and California Agencies. Contractually mandated
financial mechanisms included in the authorizing legislation require
annual appropriations for the cost of operation and the amortized
cost to construct the project, if, and only if, the treated sewage
meets the applicable, U.S., California and Mexico clean water
standards.
