STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
WESTMORLAND — City taxpayers face a large expenditure in the near future to upgrade its sewage disposal system.The California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Colorado River Basin Region, has given the city just over a year to complete improvements.
The city council this week turned the matter over to City Attorney Jack Boggust for study, but not before Mayor E.H. Cain said the board’s “ultimatum” smacked of “Russia.”
In a letter to the city from Arthur Swaijian, executive officer of the Water Quality Control Board, sample results were cited that had been taken of Westmorland’s sewage discharge.
The sewage tested on Sept. 2 and Dec. 15 were between three and six times higher than the allowable maximum biochemical oxygen demand (BOD).
BOD is one of the factors used to test sewage strength. It is the amount of oxygen required in the biological decomposition of organic matter.The higher the BOD, the less oxygen is available in the water.The city discharges its sewage into the Trifolium Drain, about one mile northwest of the city. The sewage is first filtered through an Imhoff tank before the water is discharged into the drain. The drain itself is a narrow, open ditch that empties into the New River about three miles west of the city.
City Councilman Howard Dickerson said the present sewage treatment facility was installed 32 years ago and, at that time, was considered among the more advanced systems used in the Imperial Valley.The system developed initially by a German engineer, Karl Imhoff, is characterized by two compartments. The upper compartment is for setting solids, and the lower is where the solids are decomposed by bacteria that naturally grow in the environment provided.The tank is periodically emptied.It has no moving mechanical parts, and at one time was considered ideal for use by small to medium-sized communities.
Cost of updating the Westmorland treatment facility may run anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000. Dickerson said this would primarily comprise a system of oxidation ponds.
40 years ago
The Clinica de Salud del Pueblo wrongfully overturned the election of Juanita Martinez to its board of directors, and it must make amends.
That was the finding of the federal Department of Health Education and Welfare following an investigation it conducted at the request of Rep. Clair Burgener, who had received complaints from Calexico residents. HEW is a major funding source of the Clinica.In a letter received by the Calexico Neighborhood Action Council Monday. Sheridan Weinstein, HEW regional health administrator, said the Clinica has been ordered to report within 10 days what action it is taking to remedy the situation.
Controversy erupted almost immediately after the Clinica held an election late last year to elect a representative to its board from the Calexico area.
Juanita Martinez won the election with 286 votes. But runner-up Socorro Juarez, who got 61 votes challenged the election. Ultimately the Clinica board threw out the election results. Although the Clinica formally declined to state the reasons for overturning the election, some clinic insiders initially said it was overturned because Mrs. Martinez was over the allowable income level for the position.
30 years ago
Imperial County has seen a steady increase in the number of undocumented immigrants entering, a year after illegal crossings were dramatically cut by implementation of the Immigration Reform Act, according to Border Patrol officials.
In December, Border Patrol agents in Imperial County caught 1,480 people, 12 percent more than were apprehended during the same month the previous year, said Paul Villanueva of the El Centro Sector of the Border Patrol. In January, 2,606 people were caught, a 24 percent increase, and in February 2,503, a 36 percent increase.