IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — Contamination has plagued Imperial Beach throughout the year, but relief may be in sight with new funding expected from the Biden administration aimed at tackling the issue of hazardous materials flowing into the Pacific Ocean through sewage treatment plants along the Tijuana River.

“Congress has negotiated $156 million, which is not the original 310 amount that we wanted, but we will take it because it’s critical to prevent any further delays in the fixing and doubling of the treatment plant,” stated Paloma Aguirre, the mayor of Imperial Beach.

The main concern has been the broken infrastructure in Tijuana, with Aguirre noting that a total of $456 million earmarked for a fix is already in progress.

“And that is complementary to the efforts being done by Mexico. They are currently upgrading Punto Bandera, which discharges 40 million gallons of waste every single day,” Aguirre added.

Despite Punta Bandera being located south of Tijuana, waste during the summer months is often pushed north into Imperial Beach, Silver Strand, Coronado and sometimes even farther north, exacerbating a long-standing issue.

“It has discharged close to 100 billion gallons in the last year. It’s the primary source of pollution during the summer months. So, once that’s fixed this year, we expect that at least by next summer, we are really going to see some difference,” Aguirre said.

Aguirre emphasized that this issue has brought both the president and Republicans together to find a solution.

On Friday, federal officials are expected to vote on the funding.