svEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
FACT SHEET 2013
U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program
U.S.- Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program:
Tribal Border Infrastructure Program
Public Health Benefits:
Investments that provide sanitary
sewer services and access to
clean drinking water drastically
reduces the spread of infectious
diseases such as legionellosis,
typhoid fever, and shigella.
,
Environmental Benefits:
Protecting water quality from
untreated or inadequately treated
wastewater discharge improves
ecosystem health and the food on
which these communities depend.
.
Economic Benefits:
Sanitation improvements can
increase overall worker productiv-
ity by minimizing number of
missed days due to illness. Addi-
tionally, infrastructure projects
create jobs in tribal communities.
There are 154 Native American tribes, totaling
881,070 Native Americans, living within the
four U.S. border states and 25 Native Ameri-
can nations within the 62.5 mille region north
of the U.S.-Mexico border. These border
tribes constitute a multinational mosaic of
culture, language, history, governance, topog-
raphy, and remoteness that pose complex
challenges when addressing issues of dispro-
portionate poverty and infrastructure needs.
In 1997, the U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infra-
structure Program (BWIP) established a Tribal
Border Infrastructure Program (TBI) to ad-
dress water and wastewater needs for U.S.
federally-recognized Indian Tribes along the
California and Arizona border. Funded from
BWIP appropriations, the TBI program in turn
funds high priority drinking water and
wastewater infrastructure projects through
Interagency Agreements (lAs) with the Indian
Health Service or direct grants to tribes.
Due to resource limitations, funding is allocat-
ed to this effort every other year to help ad-
dress tribal border infrastructure needs.
The program focuses on providing safe drink-
ing water and adequate sanitation to the 25
Tribes eligible for TBI funding out of 147 fed-
erally-recognized border tribes in California
and Arizona. The Indian Health Service (IHS)
has identified 80 high-priority tribal drinking
water and wastewater projects, 25% of which
would provide first-time connections to safe
drinking water and sanitation facilities. Such
connections minimize the risk of pathogen
outbreak, opportunity cost of travelling for
water collection and wastewater disposal,
and severe impairment of land and water
resources.
Since 1997, the program has awarded $36
million dollars of BWIP funds to meet tribal
border infrastructure needs. To date, the pro-
gram has funded over 70 projects and provid-
ed safe drinking water or adequate sanitation
services to over 10,000 tribal homes. In FY13,
the program received approximately $1.4
million of BWIP's funds that will provide
222 tribal homes with critically needed drink-
ing water and wastewater infrastructure.
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Tribal Border Program Highlights in 2013
Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation
Safe Drinking Water Project
Located in the western part of the Carrizo Desert of Califor-
nia, the Tribe's sole source of drinking water comes from an
aquifer threatened by water quality problems related to the
proximity of septic tanks, coliform bacteria, nitrate, and ex-
cessive sanding in over
half the wells.
TheTBI program
awarded $346,660 to
restore 21 wells, drill 3
new wells, and install 4
small water storage
tanks. This project pro-
vided reliable drinking
water to 20 tribal
homes and 4 commu-
nity buildings, mini-
mizing the risk of wa-
terborne illnesses.
The project, which includes the two
newly installed water tanks above,
was completed in FY13. Photo: EPA
Tohono O'odham Nation
Gu Vo Lagoon Repair
The Tohono O'odham nation, the second largest tribal nation
in the U.S., is located in the Sonoran Desert. The community
of Gu Vo utilizes the lagoon as a means of cost-effective
wastewater treatment to serve 73 homes. Gu Vo Lagoon's
capacity was reaching critical limits, with existing berms expe-
riencing erosion issues and levels rising near the point of
overflow.
TheTBI program allocated
$610,000 in BWIP funds to
expand the existing lagoon
system to avoid an over-
flow situation which can
increase the risk for public
health-related issues and
even more costly repairs.
Project construction start-
ed in December 2013.
A view ofGu Vo Lagoon before
the repairs. Photo: Tanya
Davis, IMS STARS database
La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians
Poomacha Tank Rehabilitation
La Jolla Band is located near Mount Palomar in Southern Cali-
fornia. The TBI program provided $296,000 in BWIP funds
for the rehabilitation of
the 96,000-gallon wa-
ter storage tank serving
the Poomacha commu-
nity and construction
of a chlorine booster
station to increase the
chlorine residual within
the system.
These improvements
will increase the
tribe's access to safe
drinking water and
directly impact 39
homes.
Before improvements were made,
the tank had several leaks which
can affect storage capacity and
introduce bacteria into the system.
Photo: Josh Newcom, IMS STARS
database
San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians
San Pasqual Tank Replacement
The San Pasqual band lives in the drier, wildfire-prone region
of Southern California, where maintaining reliable water sys-
tems is paramount. The quality of the community's only
drinking water tank had
diminished to a level in
which significant water
leaks were occurring at the
tank base and joints, caus-
ing corrosion to the tank
shell.
TheTBI program provided
$431,465 in BWIP funds to
replace the water tank and
minimize system loss of
this valuable resource.
The project is estimated to
serve 103 homes.
San Pasqual fire truck. Photo:
San Pasqual Tribe Image Gallery
Office of Wastewater Management
EPA-832-F-14-011
September 2014
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