Governor Gavin Newsom's proposed 2020 - 2021 budget includes possible funding for the Salton Sea and the New River.
Luis Plancarte , Chairman of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors , said , " I am encouraged to learn about the Governor's budget proposal that includes funding to address these public and environmental health threats that we are faced with on a daily basis with the New River and Salton Sea". The Governor's January budget proposal contains plans for a $4.75 billion climate resilience bond that , if approved by voters , would provide a $220 million allocation to support Salton Sea habitat and air quality mitigation projects within the State's Salton Sea Management Plan.
Apart from the proposed bond measure , the Governor's budget proposal includes $28 million in capital investment for the New River Improvement Project. The project features a pipe to encase the contaminated water of the New River entering the United States from Mexico. The pipe would bypass Calexico and would reroute Calexico's wastewater from the City's treatment plant to restore some flow in the orginal river channel through the city. A trash screen would be installed just north of the border as well. The estimated cost of the project would be $28 million.
