16 Latino elected officials have plans to tour the Salton Sea
A group of sixteen Latino elected officials from across California will tour the Salton Sea to witness the polluted, shrinking body of water and be in the presence of arsenic-infested waters. Some elected officials have never seen the Salton Sea or smelled of hydrogen sulfide, which smells like rotten eggs.
The environment and conditions have plagued the area where farm workers and other low-wage families reside and work. An organization that aims to educate Latino leaders about California’s water crisis will host a Salton sea tour tomorrow. The nonprofit is called Water Education for Latino Leaders (WELL).
"This is the seventh year that we're doing this," says Castulo Estrada, who is a WELL board member and the Vice President on the board of directors with the Coachella Valley Water District. "And the program actually starts off here in the Coachella Valley. And I think this year, we have about 21 elected officials, these are supervisors, council members, mayors, water district directors, school board directors. And so they they're going to spend the next six months together, learning about water issues in California, and also in the particular areas that they're going to visit as it relates to here in the Coachella Valley. We know that we have issues related to the Colorado River State Water Project, the Salton Sea, and the lack of access to safe drinking water in the eastern parts of the Coachella Valley. And so that that's what they're going to focus on."
They have plans to interview Salton Sea Authority Executive Director G. Patrick O’Dowd over challenges to the local ecosystem besetting poor residents. Four of the WELL leaders are elected Coachella Valley officials. "The human right to water in California is a policy that aims to make sure that every Californian has access to safe drinking water," says Estrada.
When: Saturday, January 20th.
The event is not open to the public, but they will discuss these areas and issues throughout the weekend.
See the schedule below:
Walking tour of the Coachella Branch of the American Canal
Tour of the Salton Sea and interview with Patrick O’Dowd at the North Shore Beach & Yacht Club
Tour of “Polanco Park” mobile homes, San Jose Community Center.
Interview with Monica Telles, State Community Planner, USDA Rural Development, San Jose Community Center.
"By now we've probably have had close to 100 elected officials do this do this visit," says Estrada. "And I think what's important is that a lot of these folks, eventually sometimes they run for assembly, they run for Congress. And it's important that they understand the particular issues in our region so that they're aware of our issues as as we aim to create change at the state level or at the federal level.".
