Water Restored to 1.3M in Tijuana After Major Repairs

Drinking water is flowing again for nearly all of Tijuana and Playas de Rosarito after a multi-day outage that affected over 1.3 million people across 691 neighborhoods.

Crews from the Tijuana State Public Services Commission completed 86 hours of intensive work on the Florido-Aguaje Aqueduct, the main pipeline serving the border region. The project wasn't just about fixing leaks but upgrading decades-old infrastructure to prevent future failures.

"Since Sunday, we've been re-establishing service to all the neighborhoods affected," said Jesús García Castro, who heads the commission. By Tuesday, 95% of affected areas had full service restored.

The repair work proved more challenging than expected when crews discovered a 70-year-old storm drain buried beneath the pipeline. Houses built almost directly on top of the aqueduct also complicated access, extending what should have been a Saturday morning completion to Sunday evening.

For residents like Ana García, the outage meant skipping cooking to avoid making messes they couldn't clean up. Many families redirected grocery money toward buying bottled water and eating out, stretching already tight budgets.

Downtown hotels and restaurants without storage tanks faced estimated losses of up to 15%, according to local business leaders. The disruption hit hardest in a region where consistent water access can't be taken for granted.

The Ripple Effect

This wasn't just emergency repairs. Engineers replaced worn pipe sections and upgraded system efficiency to reduce the likelihood of future outages affecting more than a million people.

The project represents a significant investment in infrastructure that will serve these communities for decades to come. Water systems built more than 70 years ago for agricultural areas now supply a thriving binational metropolitan region.

Local authorities asked residents to continue reporting any lingering water issues as pressure normalizes across the network. The commission thanked families for their patience during the extended outage and apologized for the delays caused by unexpected underground obstacles.

Communities that went days without running water now have a more reliable system serving their homes.