Forum to focus on New River and Salton Sea
The New River Improvement Project, the recent sewage spills on the river and the California Natural Resources Agency 10-year plan for the Salton Sea will be the main talking points for the upcoming Colorado River Citizens Forum of the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission scheduled for April 26 in El Centro.
The main presentation of the forum will feature executive officer of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Colorado River Basin, Jose Angel, who will discuss the status of the New River Improvement Project for the Calexico area.
The presentation will touch on the status of implementation of the recommended infrastructure, such as trash screens, encasement, and treated wastewater pump-back systems for the New River.
In addition to the discussion about the project, Angel is also expected to talk about the challenges that have risen in the first few months of the year in which several raw sewage spills have occurred in Mexicali, which has renewed concern about the feasibility of the river’s clean-up efforts.
So far this year, there have been four different raw sewage discharges into the New River that have occurred south of the border, with the latest of them taking place April 4.
During a presentation for the Imperial County Board of Supervisors on March 21, Angel said the main cause of the spills is due to aging infrastructure and that heavy investment will be needed to make all necessary repairs.
“The level of cooperation is unprecedented. This is not about a lack of cooperation, it’s a lack of resources,” Angel said on March 21. “Mexico is using its limited resources to do the best it can to prevent bypasses, but quite frankly, the infrastructure is in such bad shape it’s just a rubber band.”
Salton Sea
A second major discussion of interest in the forum will be regarding the Salton Sea and the current state of the restoration efforts. Bruce Wilcox, assistant secretary of Salton Sea policy for the California Natural Resources Agency, will be on hand to give the public an overview of the recently released Phase I, 10year plan, which lays out the amount of acreage of exposed lakebed the state intends to cover over the course of the next decade.
Although the plan has stated goals of what it intends to do and mentions possible additional sources of funding to carry it out, it has raised concerns due to lack of details and the fact that at the moment only 21 percent of the funding needed to pay for the plan is available.
The Colorado River Citizens Forum will take place from 4p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Imperial Irrigation District Board Room, located at 1285 Broadway in El Centro.
Members of the public who would like more information about the meeting may contact 928782-1598 or the IBWC Public Affairs Office at lori.kuczmanski@ibwc.gov