SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Almost 1 million residents from 632 neighborhoods throughout Tijuana and Rosarito will be without water service through the weekend starting Friday.
Jesús García Castro, director of the State Commission of Public Services in Tijuana, says crews need to repair a large leak on one of the main lines that delivers water to the entire region.
He says the only way to do it is to shut off the water to almost half of the city.
During a Wednesday afternoon news conference, García Castro told reporters the work, including the restoration of service, will take approximately 62 hours to complete.
“By the end of Sunday everyone should have their water back,” he said. “The last seven days we’ve been doing preliminary work, gathering all the materials, heavy equipment and tools necessary to make the repairs, we’re trying to minimize the disruption in service.”
The city will deploy and position water trucks throughout Tijuana where people can supply themselves with water for cooking, cleaning and sanitation needs.
The water will be free of charge, García Castro said.
“We’re also going to do some maintenance work and repair smaller leaks in other areas while the water is shut off — this is an emerging situation we weren’t expecting, but we’re ready to make all the necessary repairs.”
García Castro said the line being worked on is called the Florido Aqueduct, which delivers water to half of the city of Tijuana and Rosarito.
He says it was constructed 90 years and that’s why it breaks down sporadically.
“The ideal solution is to get funding to construct an entire new line, but right now it just can’t be done, in the meantime we’re asking people to be patient.”
Read: Read More