New River project in Calexico set to move forward

FOX 9's Adam Klepp spoke with the project's manager on the timeline for completion

CALEXICO, Calif. (KECY, KYMA) - The New River which runs east of Calexico and into the Salton Sea, has been a public health hazard for decades but an ongoing construction project aims to fix that.

Jose angel is the manager of a 28 million dollar project to clean up the river which started over a year ago.

"Our main concern and main objective with the project is to help the public health threat the river poses to anyone,” Angel said.

The construction includes three main components, a trash screen at the area where the river crosses the border, an underground pipe to divert wastewater and a pump system to discharge treated wastewater from the city of Calexico.

“Hopefully by next week we will complete and terminate the permitting phase and move to construction,” Angel said.

Angel also notes the citizens of the Imperial Valley are the reason why change is coming to the river.

“We owe it to the people of Calexico and the Imperial Valley, so we’re going to get it done," Angel said.

As for when construction will start, Angel hopes to break ground this spring.

His team is targeting May of 2023 for the completion of the project, but he hopes for it to be done even sooner.