Trump Escalates Water Dispute with Mexico Over Tijuana River Sewage Crisis

By Michael Katz | Wednesday, 10 December 2025 07:25 PM EST

President Donald Trump intensified his campaign against Mexico over water disputes, accusing the nation of reneging on commitments to control raw sewage flows into the Tijuana River.

In a Truth Social post, Trump declared: “Mexico must take care of its water and sewage problem, IMMEDIATELY. It is a true Threat to the People of Texas, California, and the United States of America!” The statement was accompanied by a 19-second video featuring a narrator describing how Mexico’s ongoing discharges—linked to operational failures at Tijuana’s primary wastewater treatment facility—have created health hazards for communities including Imperial Beach and Coronado.

This marks the second time this week Trump has accused Mexico of violating water-related agreements. On Monday, he threatened additional tariffs on Mexican goods if it failed to comply with terms of a 1944 treaty governing Rio Grande water allocations for Texas. Trump’s latest remarks appear to signal his belief that Mexico is not implementing adequately the July agreement under which Mexico pledged $93 million for sanitation infrastructure and a “permanent, 100% solution” to the contamination crisis.

California state agencies and local officials plan public meetings next week to address mitigation efforts and funding for the Tijuana River sewage emergency. Roughly 169 billion gallons of water contaminated with raw sewage, industrial waste, and trash have flowed through the river valley since 2018, creating a persistent health crisis for residents in south San Diego and Tijuana.

Kim Prather, an atmospheric chemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, noted industrial chemicals from Mexican factories—including solvents, heavy metals, and PFAS toxins (“forever chemicals”)—are now entering California’s portion of the river alongside sewage. “The river right now is a wastewater treatment plant without any processing,” Prather stated in early December.

Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.