PALM DESERT — The public health issues posed by the New River could be solved by 2017.
That’s the goal of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board as it held a workshop Thursday for board members to go over its strategic planning goals for the New River, to eliminate the public health threat in the Calexico area by 2017.
The board could approve a resolution at its next meeting supporting the federal government building a disinfection facility to deal with pathogens and the Mexico national government putting in a trash screen.
Those were the options presented Thursday for what could deal with some of the main health problems. There are multiple issues going on with the New River, including a decreased water flow and public health problems, said Jose Angel, assistant executive officer for the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Mexico has started to reuse some of its waste water, giving it to power plants for cooling. There’s also less agriculture runoff from the Mexicali Valley because about 170 acres of land are out of commission after the 2010 Easter earthquake.
While there are issues with less water, the primary public health issues are pathogens in the water and trash in the river, he said. The solutions would be to put in a disinfection facility and a trash screen along the river.
A trash screen could cost between $2 million and $4 million, depending on who builds it, Angel said. Mexican officials have said they could build the screen for $2 million along with the port of entry project if U.S. officials pay the capital costs. They would cover operations and maintenance.
The sanitation facility is expected to cost between $70 million and $80 million, but an additional $14 million to $17 million would be needed to carry the water to the disinfection facility.
If you deal with the pathogens, the river will become an asset instead of a problem, Angel said. It can be used in the geothermal development for example.
The information is based on the New River technical advisory committee’s report that was sent to the state last month. The report was not available Thursday.
That’s the goal of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board as it held a workshop Thursday for board members to go over its strategic planning goals for the New River, to eliminate the public health threat in the Calexico area by 2017.
The board could approve a resolution at its next meeting supporting the federal government building a disinfection facility to deal with pathogens and the Mexico national government putting in a trash screen.
Those were the options presented Thursday for what could deal with some of the main health problems. There are multiple issues going on with the New River, including a decreased water flow and public health problems, said Jose Angel, assistant executive officer for the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Mexico has started to reuse some of its waste water, giving it to power plants for cooling. There’s also less agriculture runoff from the Mexicali Valley because about 170 acres of land are out of commission after the 2010 Easter earthquake.
While there are issues with less water, the primary public health issues are pathogens in the water and trash in the river, he said. The solutions would be to put in a disinfection facility and a trash screen along the river.
A trash screen could cost between $2 million and $4 million, depending on who builds it, Angel said. Mexican officials have said they could build the screen for $2 million along with the port of entry project if U.S. officials pay the capital costs. They would cover operations and maintenance.
The sanitation facility is expected to cost between $70 million and $80 million, but an additional $14 million to $17 million would be needed to carry the water to the disinfection facility.
If you deal with the pathogens, the river will become an asset instead of a problem, Angel said. It can be used in the geothermal development for example.
The information is based on the New River technical advisory committee’s report that was sent to the state last month. The report was not available Thursday.
