United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
ANNUAL REPORT 2011
U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program
U.S.-Mexico Border Water
Infrastructure Program
Public Health Benefits:
Connecting nearly 55,000
homes with safe drinking
water and 500,000 with
adequate wastewater service
has helped reduce the risk of
water-borne diseases.
Environmental Benefits:
More than 350 million gallons/
day of untreated or
inadequately treated
wastewater discharges have
been eliminated.
Economic Benefits:
Water infrastructure
investments generate large
economic benefits due to
reduced health care costs
and gains in productivity.
Infrastructure construction
stimulates local economies
and creates jobs.
The U.S.-Mexico Border Region is a
dynamic area where public health and
environmental challenges are
interconnected, populations
intermingle, and water resources are
shared by both countries. The EPA
U.S.-Mexico Border Water
Infrastructure Program works
collaboratively to address critical
public health and environmental
problems at the source by providing
often first-time drinking and
wastewater services to underserved
communities.
Since 1997, EPA investments of $571
million in grant funding have
leveraged more than $1.1 billion in
funding from other sources. Through
cross-agency collaboration, the
The U.S.-Mexico Border Program's
bi-national framework is based on the
1983 La Paz Agreement and a
subsequent environmental agreement to
the North American Free Trade
Agreement addressing infrastructure
needs and related environmental impacts
from the expected trade increase.
Border Program has funded 97
projects with total construction costs
of more than $1.7 billion, benefiting
8.5 million people. Seventy eight
projects have been completed,
including 13 completed in fiscal year
2011(FY11).
The program protects public health
and the environment by providing
essential drinking water and
wastewater services to underserved
communities, funding projects that
otherwise would be financially
infeasible. The program has helped
border communities gain access to
these basic and essential services;
yet, the documented need for
additional assistance remains critical.
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Annual Report 2011
http://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborderwaterinfrastructure
Every new house-
hold connected to a
collection and treat-
ment system pre-
vents approximately
200 gallons per day
of raw sewage from
flowing into the
rivers, lakes, and
streams of the
United States.
As part of the FY11/12 funding cycle,
EPA sponsored a series of workshops to
help communities evaluate funding
options to support their infrastructure
needs. Federal and state agencies,
including US Departments of Agriculture
(USDA) and Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), participated in
these workshops and provided
information about their funding programs.
EPA received 200 applications with a
total estimated construction cost of $800
million.
Through EPA's prioritization process, 23
of these projects have been selected as
candidates to receive funding for
planning and development. As
construction funds become available,
EPA will fund those projects that address
the most urgent public health and
environmental needs.
Benefits to U.S.
Border
Communities
Many rivers along the U.S.-Mexico
Border, like the Tijuana River in
California, originate in Mexico and flow
northward into the United States, while
the Rio Grande in Texas forms a natural
border between both countries. The
shared use and ownership of border
surface waters requires unique
environmental, technical and political
solutions to ensure that U.S. citizens are
protected from exposure to untreated
sewage and disease outbreaks from
unsafe drinking water. EPA works closely
with U.S. federal, state and local partners
and with Mexican water agencies and
state governments to reduce discharges
of raw sewage into these precious
waters. Treating this pollution at its
Treated -waste-water from the Nogales International Treatment Plant in
Arizona flows to the Santa Cruz River.
source is the most effective way to
protect public health and water quality;
treating these waters after they have
been contaminated and crossed the
border into the United States is neither
technically nor financially feasible.
EPA's U.S.-Mexico Border Water
Infrastructure Program has the authority to
work directly with Mexican agencies to
prevent untreated sewage discharges into
our shared waterways. Such efforts are a
key step to improving coastal water quality
by reducing pollutant loadings to the rivers
flowing into the Gulf of Mexico near
Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoras,
Tamaulipas (Mexico), and into the Pacific
Ocean near San Diego, California and
Tijuana, Baja California (Mexico).
Every new household connected to a
collection and treatment system prevents
approximately 200 gallons per day of raw
sewage from flowing into the rivers, lakes,
and streams of the United States. To date,
EPA's infrastructure projects have
dramatically reduced contamination of
border surface waters by treating more
than 350 million gallons per day of
previously untreated or inadequately
treated sewage discharges. For example,
a wastewater conveyance and treatment
facility in Mexican, Baja California,
reduced by more than 15 million gallons
per day the amount of raw sewage flowing
via the New River into Calexico,
California, and on to the Salton Sea.
U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program
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Annual Report 2011
http://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborderwaterinfrastructure
Public Health
Benefits
In the border region, the close proximity and significant intermingling of populations
poses a serious risk of disease exposure and transmission as a result of unsafe
drinking water and sanitation. Upgrading drinking water systems to meet EPA,
Mexican, and state drinking water standards reduces the risk of water-borne illnesses,
particularly gastro-intestinal diseases such as bacterial and amoebic dysenteries,
viral gastroenteritis, hepatitis A, and Ascariasis.
Since program inception, the border water infrastructure program has provided nearly
55,000 homes with safe drinking water and more than 500,000 with adequate
wastewater services. EPA's investment in drinking water and wastewater projects in
these underserved communities benefits U.S. border populations by reducing the
potential for cross-border disease exposure.
Environmental
Benefits
EPA's border
wastewater infra-
structure projects
have reduced
discharges of
organic waste by
more than 100
million pounds
per year.
Discharges of raw sewage contaminate rivers and streams with pathogens and
excessive nutrients that poison and choke aquatic life. These waterways, which are
extremely valuable in the desert southwest, become dead zones that are unsafe
for consumption and recreation. EPA's border wastewater infrastructure projects have
reduced discharges of organic waste by more than 100 million pounds per year.
Removal of other contaminants, such as suspended solids, toxic ammonia, nutrients
and pathogens, has improved water quality at beaches and in rivers throughout
the border region.
Some states and local organizations are documenting environmental improvements
across the border region. These areas include the Santa Cruz River in Arizona, the
New River in Imperial Valley, California and the Rio Grande near Ojinaga, Mexico and
Presidio, Texas. Documented improvements in water quality include reduced
contaminant loads of organic waste, ammonia, pathogenic bacteria, and total
suspended solids. For example, populations of the long-fin dace, a native fish, have
returned to the Santa Cruz River, increasing from zero reported in 2007 to 500 in
2011 following completion of the International Wastewater Treatment Plant in
Nogales, Arizona.
Sherry Sass, president of the local organization Friends of the Santa Cruz River,
commented before the Nogales project was even complete, "I can't believe the fish
are back already. That's just astounding. It's very heartening that the government has
been responsive and that so many different agencies and groups have been working
together towards cleaning up what's really the heart of the valley."
Stream surveys in the Santa Cruz River,
downstream of the Nogales Treatment Plant
Fish found in the Santa Cruz River during
surveys by the Sonoran Institute.
U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program
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Annual Report 2011
http://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborderwaterinfrastructure
Economic
Benefits
The U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program implements projects that
stimulate local economies through public health-related economic gains, job creation
and increased demand for goods and services. EPA investments in infrastructure
projects generate substantial economic benefits through public health improvements.
Studies have shown that investing one dollar in improvements to water and
wastewater infrastructure has an estimated economic return of eight to twelve dollars.
Safe drinking water and sanitary sewer services increase economic productivity by
reducing the risk of water-borne illnesses, such as diarrheal diseases and other
gastro-intestinal diseases. Gains in productivity from improved health, reduced health
care costs, and convenience time savings to individuals provide additional economic
benefits. A Clean Water Council study in the border region concluded that a $2.6
million investment in infrastructure in Dona Ana County, New Mexico, created a
demand for products and services of approximately $4 million and more than 40 jobs.
This project is representative of the projects financed by EPA's border program.
Infrastructure improvements and increased managerial and financial capabilities
gained through the program support local economies and help communities attract
investments. Fiscal discipline and realistic user fees required for project funding help
create self-sufficient utilities such as the Tijuana, Tecate and Mexican water utilities,
which are recognized for their production- and commercial-efficiencies and have been
awarded top ratings for credit worthiness. As a result of EPA assistance, these self-
sufficient water utilities are able to maintain their drinking and wastewater
infrastructure, with tangible benefits such as cleaner and safer water entering the
United States via the Tijuana and New Rivers, which originate in Mexico.
Moving
forward
Capacity building, operator competency, long-term operation and maintenance,
climate readiness and water scarcity are some of the challenges these communities
face in securing water and wastewater services. The border program's challenge
moving forward is to help these communities incorporate effective utility management
practices and cost-effective, climate-ready components into the planning, design and
long-term operation and maintenance of their water and wastewater infrastructure
projects.
A methane capture system in Mexico at Ciudad
Juarez's South Wastewater Treatment Plant har-
vests methane from the anaerobic digestion treat-
ment process.
New solar panels in Mexico at San Benito 's
drinking -water treatment plant reduce energy
costs, -which are a major expense for most -water
utilities.
U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program
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Annual Report 2011
http://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborderwaterinfrastructure
CASE STUDIES
On the Ground
Results, Nogales
International
Wastewater
Treatment Plant
Nogales, Arizona International
Waste-water Treatment Plant
Along the U.S.-Mexico Border, the Ambos Nogales region is home to the sister
cities of Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, where waters flow north from
Mexico through the Nogales Wash into the Santa Cruz River and on towards
Tucson, Arizona. With rapid population growth, and aging infrastructure, both cities
were at risk from the public health hazards associated with frequent sewage spills.
Technical limitations at the Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant
(NIWTP), located in Rio Rico, Arizona were resulting in discharges of toxic
ammonia, excessive nutrients, and an odorous murky sludge into the Santa Cruz
River.
The NIWTP serves both U.S. and Mexican citizens, roughly 21,000 and 300,000
respectively, and is co-owned by the City of Nogales, Arizona, and the International
Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC). In 2009, the rehabilitation of the NIWTP
was completed with funding from the EPA, City of Nogales, Arizona, and the
IBWC. The impact of this project on the U.S.-side of the border has been
immediate and substantial. Levels of toxic ammonia in the river have been reduced
by more than 90%. Populations of the long-fin dace, a native fish, have grown from
zero in 2007 to 500 in 2011, and Santa Cruz Watershed scientists expect the Gila
topminnow, an endangered species that lives in tributaries to the Santa Cruz River,
will begin to repopulate its former range.
Comprehensive
Wastewater
Collection and
Treatment:
City of Reynosa,
Mexico
Secondary sedimentation basin at
the new 5.7MGD Reynosa waste-
water treatment plant.
The City of Reynosa in Tamaulipas, Mexico, is a quickly growing city of 600,000
located on the U.S.-Mexico Border directly across from Hidalgo and McAllen,
Texas. Before the completion of new wastewater infrastructure projects, only 57%
of Reynosa's population had wastewater collection services; the population was
served by an old, inoperable wastewater treatment lagoon. Much of the 36.5 million
gallons per day (MGD) of raw sewage produced by the city was being discharged
into the Rio Grande without treatment, contaminating the river with pathogens and
excessive nutrient loading and exposing populations on both sides of the border to
raw sewage discharges.
To improve environmental health and sanitation, the city developed a
comprehensive wastewater collection and treatment project at a cost of $83.4
million, of which EPA's border program funded $33.5 million. The project, which
included a collection system and two new wastewater treatment plants, was
completed in May 2011. Now, 90% of Reynosa's residents are connected to a
wastewater collection system and approximately 83% of residential wastewater is
being adequately treated. The treatment systems have the combined capacity to
treat 28.5 MGD of wastewater before it is discharged into the Rio Grande,
improving the river water quality and diminishing U.S. citizens' exposure to raw
sewage discharges. A planned expansion to the wastewater system will fully treat
the additional raw sewage discharges associated with the city's rapid growth.
U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program
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For more information, please visit:
http://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborderwaterinfrastructure
ANNUAL REPORT 2011
U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program
xvEPA
EPA-832-F-12-011
March 2012
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