New River standards not reached By VICTOR MORALES, Staff Writer
Friday, March 14, 2008 10:39 PM PDT
IMPERIAL VALLEY PRESS FILE PHOTO
Inner tubes and other floating devices used by illegal immigrants remain in the New River west of Calexico in 2004.
IMPERIAL VALLEY PRESS FILE PHOTO
A sign warning of New River water and soil contamination is posted on Highway 98 west of Calexico.
CALEXICO Advocates for cleaning up the New River are rankled over how the federal government characterized the results that a partially U.S.-funded wastewater treatment plant in Mexicali has produced in the New River water.
The comments made by U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission Project Manager Al Goff during a March 3 meeting were “perturbing,” river advocates said.
“It struck me in less than a positive way that he made those comments,” New River Committee Chairman Rudy Maldonado said Wednesday.
In the meeting at San Diego State University-Imperial Valley campus, Goff proclaimed the river would never achieve perfection and that the millions in U.S. funds spent on the Las Arenitas wastewater treatment plant in Mexicali that was intended to treat raw sewage water that would otherwise flow into the New River was a worthy endeavor and expenditure.
“If you look at the results, they show improvement. But we are never going to get a pristine river. There will never be any recreation activities there,” Goff said at the meeting.
The latest water sampling tests indicate the water quality has improved since the plant became operational but is still far from reaching California standards. Illegal discharges, trash and bypasses by the plant’s managers continue to pollute the river with bacteria.
Goff made the comments after the meeting’s discussion took on a pessimistic atmosphere and following state water officials projecting a downbeat assessment on the U.S. government’s investment return on the wastewater treatment plant.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency spent about $13 million to help build the $30 million plant along with 16.7 miles worth of pressurized sewer pipe and a pumping station in Mexicali.
Goff said Friday his comments were not meant to be insensitive and that he was alluding to an often overlooked detail that the waterway, which flows north from Mexicali into the Salton Sea, is not a natural river.
“Well, you have to realize what the New River is; it’s a drain. It’s a misnomer when they say it’s a river. It’s always been a receiver of agricultural drain and waste. This river has never been pristine other than when it had Colorado River water in it,” Goff said.
During the meeting, Maldonado and Goff reportedly engaged in a heated debate over the prevailing attitude of the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission, a joint U.S.-Mexico working group that dates to the late 1880s. It was commissioned to handle water issues between the two nations.
Maldonado blamed the “sense of entitlement” the government has had when dealing with water issues that impact the Imperial Valley.
“I was a little disturbed by it but we will continue to work with them,” Maldonado said. “I understand they (U.S. government) are meeting their objectives, but what about the people of the Imperial Valley?” Maldonado said.
The New River, considered to be one of the dirtiest on the North American continent, comes within a mile of homes in west Calexico and Brawley.
Goff said those residents shouldn’t expect a flawless river.
“Let’s agree that we are making improvement. That’s all I was saying,” Goff said.
New River Committee advocates said they will resume getting their legal footing for potential legal action against the federal government, including the International Boundary and Water Commission, for not doing its share in cleaning up the river.
“We gained some credibility. We have always said it’s important to stop contamination in Mexicali, but it’s not the entire solution,” said Miguel Figueroa, executive director for the Calexico New River Committee.
" The New River could be dammed at the border. This happened in San Diego County when Brian Bilbray was mayor of Imperial Beach. He got in a bulldozer and blocked off the Tijuana River which finally led to a solution. The politicians in Imperial County either don't have the courage or don't care that an open sewer runs through the county. "
mandarinduck wrote on Mar 15, 2008 4:44 PM:
" Maybe the board members and the administration of Calexico School District were smelling the fumes from the New River. That would explain why they can't count and can't conduct a simple background check "
Gamecock wrote on Mar 15, 2008 4:36 PM:
" Build the dam Let them drown in their own Sh@t.
YOUR TAX MONEY AT WORK CA. "
lioneliz wrote on Mar 15, 2008 12:11 PM:
" Damming the New River out of the question? How about some heavy duty grates to at least filter that nasty water of floating garbage and floaters as well. Or scoop up the trash and ship it back to Mexico. It's bad enough the US Border Patrol has to deal with rock throwers, etc, but to also have to fish out smugglers and their drug loads that are contaiminated with a number of unknown bacteria, viruses, etc. Hope the Border Patrol Agents undergo yearly physicals, and keep up their shot records. "
bonifacenation wrote on Mar 15, 2008 11:50 AM:
" Chairman Rudy has insight into the federal government's "sense of entitlement." In dealing with water issues: chairman Rudy voted for the water transfer as an Imperial Irrigation District director; and, ordered room service to his lodging accommodations; and ordered extra meat on his deli sandwiches -all paid for by IID ratepayers. Maybe he can get more public monies into his New River Committee belly, er,purse. "
rlsciaky wrote on Mar 15, 2008 10:27 AM:
" The more things change - the more they stay the same... "
ricocafe99 wrote on Mar 15, 2008 9:25 AM:
" If water is so valuable then why doesn't Mexico try to keep it? Too expensive to render it usable again? Why don't we sell it to San Diego and let them pay for cleaning it up? Oh yeah I forgot about the Salton Sea, like that contributes a lot to society. "
living in imperial wrote on Mar 15, 2008 9:11 AM:
" Nothing like playing golf at Del Rio or Rio Bend and watching your ball fly into the New River. Especially if it's an expensive ball. I wonder if they break down as soon as they splash. I wonder who collects those balls and tries to resell them. --- Josh B. "
zanelisk wrote on Mar 15, 2008 8:33 AM:
" The New River amounts to nothing more than a vehicle for the delivery of chemical and biological agents. An act of war is an act of war, regardless if the offensive weapon is a river or a missile. If war-heads were being used to deliver the same payload the military would stop at nothing to stem the attack and retaliate. When the strong winds from the west hit, the waves generated in the Salton Sea break on the levee built to contain it, the resulting mist becomes air-borne and is inhaled by anyone east of the sea for miles.
Do a study on the declining health of the employees at the Geothermal plants, the cities of Calipatria and Niland and you will find cancer rates well above the national norm. The casualties and deaths caused by this attack from mexico warrant a military response. "
gymjunkie wrote on Mar 15, 2008 8:21 AM:
" I can't understand why New River hasn't been lined and buried. You would think that a open river as toxic as this one would be a health hazard. One day a study will be done on the history of residents near the length of the river and an enormous lawsuit will ensue, not to mention loss of property. The chemicals that drain into this river from runoff must surely have seeped into the ground water surrounding the river. Anyone remember Love canal? A whole town and community was shutdown.
"
huerto wrote on Mar 15, 2008 6:43 AM:
" YOU BUNCH OF DUMB NIT WITTS ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS BUILD A DAM AT THE LINE, DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT WE GIVE A *%#@ what those south of the border think of us, well hell we told them what we think about lining the all american canal why not just put the dam up!!!!!!!!!! "
Log on
If you have an account already, just enter your Member ID and Password to access this page.
If you're new to our site, please create a new account.
Register FREE
To use certain features of ivpressonline.com, you must register FREE on the form provided. The Imperial Valley Press use of any personally identifying information you provide as part of registration is governed by the following privacy policy:
ivpressonline.com does not, and will not, release your personal information to any third party without your consent. We may, however, share some of the information we gather, in aggregate or demographic form, with advertisers and other partners. That is, we may provide general information about ways people use our site without identifying any particular individuals.
The opinions above are from readers of ivpressonline.com and in no way represent the views of the Imperial Valley Press staff or Schurz Communications Inc.
ivpressonline.com encourages readers to offer their opinions on our local stories. We ask readers keep their comments on topic and avoid derogatory comments about fellow readers. Our goal is to promote a civil discussion about the news.
We will never edit or alter comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain:
Subscribe Get the Imperial Valley Press every morning at your home or office. Start a subscription for your family, for yourself or give it to someone special. Click here.
Text Message AlertsReceive text message alerts on breaking news, latest updates, sports scores, offers and much more on your cellphone or PDA. Sign up here.
RegisterRegister free and start receiving email alerts on breaking news, a sneak preview of upcoming stories, reminders and much more. Click here to begin.
About UsWant to know more about the Imperial Valley Press? Want to contact us? Get general and contact information. Click here.
indigo wrote on Mar 17, 2008 8:25 AM: