Former mayor of IB optimistic but still upset over sewage

For decades, achieving milestones in reducing pollution flowing across the border from Mexico has been hard to come by.

But there have been some notable ones lately. That’s given Serge Dedina hope that long-term mitigation, if not full eradication of the problem, may be at hand.

He’s not so sanguine about the here and now, however, as waters off Imperial Beach and often up the coastline to Coronado remain regularly polluted.

“Everybody gets an A-plus for all the planning and effort,” he said in an interview. “We all get an F in dealing with the immediate problem.”

Dedina has been complaining about and fighting to stop the toxic flows for most of his life, especially during his just-concluded eight years as mayor of Imperial Beach.

He singled out for praise some of those he has criticized in the past: the International Boundary and Water Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. State Department.

Dedina also noted the efforts of congressional members from San Diego County, who obtained $300 million in federal funds to reduce border pollution.

In addition to the funding, recent agreements and projects on the drawing board, Dedina continues to believe that a big part of the solution will arise out of Mexico’s self-interest. Tijuana’s water situation is dire and Mexican government agencies — with encouragement from the U.S. federal government — are exploring ways to reuse more wastewater.

“It’s clear Mexico can no longer throw water into the ocean,” Dedina said.

Dedina is executive director of Wildcoast, the binational, nonprofit environmental organization he co-founded in 2000. While no longer an official directly involved in governmental border machinations, he remains close to what’s happening. And a lot has been going on lately.

The U.S. federal government has committed to a series of steps to address the pollution as part of a settlement of a lawsuit led by Imperial Beach that was filed when Dedina was mayor. Chula Vista and the Port of San Diego were also plaintiffs.

The lawsuit claimed the border water commission violated the law by failing to control sewage, industrial waste, pesticides and trash that regularly flow through