&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
ANNUAL REPORT 2012
U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program
U.S.-Mexico Border Water
Infrastructure Program
The U.S.-Mexico Border Program's bi-national
framework is based on the 1983 La Paz Agreement and
the subsequent environmental agreement to NAFTA
addressing infrastructure needs and related
environmental impacts from the expected trade increase.
This report highlights fiscal year 2012 (FY12)
accomplishments.
Public Health Benefits:
The program has provided 60,000
border homes with access to safe
drinking water, and 544,000 homes
with adequate wastewater collection
and treatment services, reducing the
risk of disease.
Environmental Benefits:
The program has developed the
capacity to eliminate more than 450
million gallons per day of raw or
inadequately treated sewage from
being discharged into surface and
groundwater, improving water quality
and supporting fish populations.
Economic Benefits:
Program investments benefit the
U.S. by over $6 million annually from
avoided disease and over $13
million from ecological
improvements. Average annual
program spending of $65.85 million
from 1998 to 2012 has resulted in an
estimated U.S. GDP increase of $75
million per year.
The U.S.-Mexico Border Water
Infrastructure Program funds the planning,
design and construction of high priority
water and wastewater treatment facilities in
underserved communities along the
border. Border communities seek the
program's assistance as a last resort when
utilities, cities, or states are not able to fully
finance necessary infrastructure
improvements.
The 2012 Good Neighbor Environmental
Board report, The Environmental,
Economic and Health Status of Water
Resources in the U.S.-Mexico Border
Region, documents the multiple challenges
this area faces in meeting basic drinking
water and wastewater infrastructure needs
and the positive impact of EPA's
investments in addressing these needs
and improving the border ecology.
This U.S.-Mexico Border Program Annual
Report highlights program accomplishments
for fiscal year 2012 (FY12) and the
benefits provided to economically
distressed border communities.
Since 1997, EPA has completed 80
projects that benefit more than 5 million
border residents. In FY12, the U.S.-Mexico
Border Program provided 5,185 homes
with safe drinking water and 31,092 homes
with adequate wastewater services.
The U.S.-Mexico Border Program currently
has 24 projects under construction and is
supporting 26 communities in the planning
and development of projects for future
construction. This assistance helps
communities advance their projects to a
construction-ready stage, allowing them to
successfully apply for a variety of funding
sources, including U.S.-Mexico Border
Program construction grants.
All program funding is invested in projects
that benefit public health and the
environment in the United States. For
example, a wastewater project in Mexico
can only be funded if contaminants would
otherwise reach U.S. waters. Treating
contaminated water after it has crossed the
border is not technically feasible nor
financially viable. Treatment of sewage at
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U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program | Annual Report 2012
the discharge point lowers exposure to contaminated
water, reducing waterborne diseases, as well as health
care and remediation costs in the United States. In both the
New River in California and the middle Rio Grande in
Texas, fecal coliform levels have dropped by over 80
percent as a result of two new wastewater treatment plants.
The Santa Cruz River in Arizona now supports a healthy
fish population, where just a few years ago only
bloodworms and other pollution-tolerant species survived.
Beaches in southern California that were often closed due
to wastewater pollution are now safe for swimming and
other recreation activities, due in part to EPA infrastructure
investments in the Tijuana watershed.
The program's positive impact on border public health and
ecology also benefits the economy of U.S. border
communities. These added benefits include direct and
http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/wastewater/mexican/index.cfm
indirect job creation, reduced absenteeism and increased
worker productivity, reduced illness, enhanced recreational
values of beaches and avoided economic losses
associated with beach closures. Investments in water
infrastructure projects further stimulate beneficial trade
activities.
Proper operation and maintenance is key to ensuring that
these facilities achieve their expected useful life. EPA is
undertaking initiatives to protect water infrastructure
investments and support border communities' sustainability
efforts. For example, in FY12, EPA sponsored energy
efficiency and capacity building webinars and delivered
training to 250 operators working at plants funded by the
U.S.-Mexico Border Program. In FY13, EPA will
incorporate other initiatives, such as energy efficiency and
water conservation audits at selected border facilities.
PROJECT SUCCESSES IN 2012
Funding of Last Resort: Laredo and Webb
County, Texas
The U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Pro-
gram supplemented funding provided by the Texas
Water Development Board and Webb County to pro-
vide first-time drinking
water and wastewater
collection and treatment
to 3,725 residents living
in 15 colonias. The com-
prehensive water and
wastewater project for
colonias in Laredo and
Conditions prior to project
implementation
Webb County exempli-
fies the many challenges
associated with providing these basic services to
underserved border communities.
The project consisted of several phases, including
the expansion of water distribution and wastewater
collection systems. The final phase provided a 0.125
million gallons/day (MGD) wastewater treatment
plant to service 4 of the 5 Mines Road Planning
Area colonias. This comprehensive project was
completed in September
2012, with the construc-
tion of additional water
and wastewater hookups
in two colonias. From a
total project cost of close
to $21.6 million, the U.S.-
Mexico Border Program
Contributed apprOXi- Construction of water infrastructure
mately $7.9 million. hookups to homes
LosAlisos Treatment Project
Investing in Mexico to Improve U.S. Waters:
Nogales, Sonora, Mexico
The Ambos Nogales region is home to the sister
cities of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora,
where waters flow across the border into the Santa
Cruz River and northwards through Tucson, Ari-
zona. ^» [••^^^^^^•B
A shared history of
public health haz-
ards associated
with frequent sew-
age spills and in-
adequate wastewa-
ter treatment infra-
structure spurred
the development of
the Los Alisos
Wastewater Conveyance and Treatment project.
The $19 million project, completed in November
2012, was a joint venture funded by EPA's U.S.-
Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program, Mex-
ico's National Water Commission (CONAGUA), the
State of Sonora and the city of Nogales, Sonora.
Currently the 5 million gallons/day (MGD) facility
diverts and treats sewage that would otherwise
flow north into the United States. Improved water
quality from treated wastewater reduces stress on
the recently upgraded Nogales International
Wastewater Treatment Plant in Arizona. A one-
megawatt solar power generating facility, partly
funded by EPA, is now under construction and will
provide enough power to sustainably operate the
wastewater treatment plant.
&EPA
Office of Wastewater Management
EPA-830-R-13-001
March 2013
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