Board asks feds to get involved in New River spills issue
As the state of California is seeking to improve the water quality of the New River in the border between Baja California and the U.S., new challenges are emerging south of the border as aging infrastructure has caused spills on the already heavily polluted river.
Last week, Chair of the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board Nancy Wright wrote a letter directed to the Acting Regional Administrator of Region IX of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Alexis Strauss and U.S. Section Commissioner of the U.S. International and Boundary and Water Commission Edward Drusina to request a meeting and address key findings that could affect current efforts to rehabilitate the New River.
According to Wright’s letter, a meeting with the U.S. members of the Binational Technical Committee for the New River/Mexicali Sanitation Program is of the utmost importance to review an infrastructure study by Servicios de Ingenieria e Informatica for the NADBank.
“The study identifies a series of serious sewage infrastructure problems in Mexicali, which not just threaten but are actually adversely impacting New River water quality in California including sewage collectors and pumping facilities that have reached or are beyond their useful life and the need for additional sewage operation and maintenance equipment,” Wright states in the letter.
The letter states that the study published last July estimates that a total $70 million to $80 million will be needed to properly address sewage infrastructure problems and needs in Mexicali.
Jose Angel, the interim executive officer for the state Regional Water Quality Control Board, Colorado River Basin said one of the spills that occurred recently was due to a 36-inch sewage collector that collapsed. The discharge into the New River was approximately 13 million gallons of raw sewage per day for the duration of the spill. He said the problem has been corrected.
Angel said that for now, they’ve reached out to the federal government to find out how to address the infrastructure issues in Mexicali which will likely require binational cooperation to get it done. He noted a meeting is likely to happen in coming midMarch.
John Renison, who represents District 1 for the Imperial County Board of Supervisors, said he hadn’t gotten word from any officials from Mexicali as of Friday afternoon.
“Aside from the environmental impacts, the bypasses pose a serious threat to public health to anyone that potentially comes in contact with the New River and Homeland Security personnel that work in the area. Specifically, we would like to meet to hear your perspective on the problems, plans to ensure the problems do not result in routine and additional bypasses of raw sewage, and how we can work cooperatively to address the problems as a matter of priority and with a greater sense of urgency at all levels of government,” Wright’s letter states.
Imperial County staff has been in contact with the regional board regarding the issues and has asked the Board of Supervisors for direction for any further action. The Board of Supervisors will have a discussion on the issue during its next scheduled meeting at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at the County Administration Center in El Centro.