Tijuana clears its storm sand traps before the rains: 33 in service and a 34th planned in Nuevo Milenio

Mayor Ismael Burgueño Ruiz supervised cleanup work at two of the city’s desarenadores, the sand traps that hold back sediment and debris carried by storm runoff, as Tijuana prepares for the rainy season, the city government said on Oct. 13. Crews removed solid waste and trash from Aguaje de la Tuna 3, in the Cañón de la Pedrera in the Centro borough, and from Costa Coronado, on Calle Villa Mar in Playas de Tijuana.

According to the city, Aguaje de la Tuna 3 can hold 10,200 cubic meters and benefits more than 5,700 residents, while Costa Coronado, the newest sand trap in the city, holds 300 cubic meters. Tijuana has 33 of them and plans to build a 34th this year in Colonia Nuevo Milenio; the mayor said crews will visit all 33 to check the work. Virginia Vargas González, the city’s secretary of territorial, urban and environmental development, said the storm-drain works, cleanup and repairs are paid for with city funds and federal Ramo 33 money. The public works director explained that the structures catch solids and slow the water, protecting the infrastructure downstream.

At Aguaje de la Tuna, recent rains piled up more sediment and crews had to step up the work, and the mayor said the maintenance is permanent rather than seasonal, Diario Tijuana reported. Municipal crews have pulled tires, furniture, beds and mattresses out of these structures, the paper said, and Burgueño warned that trash raises the risk of flooding. The cleanup comes as the mayor has warned that a strong El Niño could bring “historic” rains this winter; we covered that warning here.

What it means for you

• The city’s request to residents: don’t throw trash into these spaces, and help keep them clean.
• Burgueño said keeping up this preventive work all season is meant to reduce risks when the rains come.
• For storm alerts and where to check them, see our Tijuana alert kit.