www.CalexicoNewRiver.org
Is the New River really a "river" or is it actually an open-air sewer?
The New River flows through an ancient drainage area that carried occasional flow when sediments from the Colorado River delta diverted water onto the area. The current channel was created by human accident with a flood in 1905 -- 1907 while trying to bring Colorado River water to the Imperial Valley. Today, the water has no natural source; the flow is made up entirely of drainage and waste. But regardless of whether it is a river or a sewer, the New River needs to be treated as an urgent and long-neglected human health problem and addressed by providing for a comprehensive remediation effort within California, including its encasement, which is the way we treat all sewage flows in California through urban areas. SB 387 addresses this ambiguity by creating authorization in state law to fund a comprehensive project to protect human health and the environment in Calexico and surrounding areas, and to set the stage for more comprehensive bi-national remediation efforts in the future
With the assistance of R.W. Beck and based on a project by the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB -- Region 7), a plan was developed for a comprehensive project within California. The document entitled "New River Sanitation Improvements Project," describes its six phases and catalogues the history of the various laws and regulations set by the responsible U.S. and Mexican agencies.
The specific features included in the Calexico New River Sanitation Improvements Project have been identified and designed to meet the following objectives:
• Provide immediate public health and environmental improvements in a manner that is compatible with longer-term pollution control and environmental improvements for the Calexico New River and Salton Sea.
• Prevent access to the Calexico New River in the immediate Calexico area, thereby eliminating direct human contact with the river.
• Provide an enhanced environment for community and economic development activities.
• Phasing of project development so that those features that can be quickly permitted move ahead independently of those features that will require a lengthier review process.
• Identifying project features that can be developed locally, without the need for international negotiations.
www.CalexicoNewRiver.com
Tags: Pollution environment river calexico border patrol california mexico mexicali contaminacion ambiental
