The Imperial County Board of Supervisors approved a Proclamation of Local Emergency for the New River.

The unanimous vote came at the Tuesday meeting of the county board. The local emergency was called to address the issues of health , safety , and welfare of the people and properties near and around the river due to  the discharge of raw sewage into the waterway by the City of Mexicali. According to Jeff Lamoure , Deputy Director of the Imperial County Public Health Department , Division of Environmental Health , since November of 2016 , there have been an average of one bypass of raw sewage per month from the failing infrastructure in Mexicali. The average bypass has ranged from 1 to 3 million gallons per day causing an increase in pathogens in the New River and an increase in nutrients into the Salton Sea. In addition , current standards for Imperial County allow 30 to 60 times higher levels of pollution in the New River than any other community in California. According to the proclamation , standards in San Diego County and the rest of California are consistent with both federal and state standards yet not in Imperial County. Board of Supervisors Chairman Ryan Kelley said , " We are demanding equal protection under the law. Imperial County is part of California and the United States ; there is no other body of water that would be allowed to exceed the Clean Water Act standards as been allowed in the New River." County officials are requesting that the International Boundary and Water Commission establish new standards for Imperial County that are consistent with other counties in California. In addition , implementation and funding for an Imperial County Water Testing Program , development of a New River communication plan tailored to the community , and construction of a wastewater treatment facility on the United States side of the border.