Feds, garbage blamed for border flooding

Flooded with questions

Land owners say garbage in gulch could be a factor

By Janine Zúñiga and Leslie Berestein STAFF WRITERS 7:43 a.m. December 2, 2008

SOUTH COUNTY — In the Tijuana River Valley, horses are standing in mud up to their ankles and fields of watermelons are submerged under muck. Local farmers and ranchers blame the federal government – which is moving massive amounts of earth to accommodate a second border fence – for the mess.

But Border Patrol Agent Mark Endicott said the flooding at Monument Road and Hollister Street near the U.S.-Mexico border is not unusual after large storms.

“Every time we get heavy rain in that area, it floods, even before the construction project,â€