San Antonio, Texas – The North American Development Bank (NADBank) is providing a US$3.4-million grant to the local water utility, Comisión Estatal de Servicios Públicos de Mexicali (CESPM), to support the rehabilitation of five force mains in the municipality of Mexicali, Baja California, and reduce the risk of pipeline failures that could cause sewage overflows onto local streets and into the New River, which flows northward into the United States.
The grant is being provided through the Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF), which is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and administered by NADBank.
The US$6.8 million project consists of replacing more than 180 valves on Force Mains No. 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7, along with the installation of 34 concrete valve boxes valve boxes and a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. The BEIF funds will mainly be used to replace the infrastructure in the force mains #1 and #3.
The project will help protect public health and the environment by preventing approximately 44.8 million gallons per day (mgd)of wastewater discharges. As a result, the project will improve wastewater services for more than 235,000 existing residential connections.
This project is part of the Strategic Wastewater Plan developed by CESPM to eliminate or reduce untreated wastewater discharges to the New River, prioritize infrastructure rehabilitation activities and establish a financing strategy.
To date, NADBank has helped CESPM finance eight wastewater collection and treatment projects for the benefit of the Municipality of Mexicali.
###
NADBank is a financial institution established and capitalized in equal parts by the United States and Mexico for the purpose of financing environmental infrastructure projects along their common border. As a pioneer institution in its field, the Bank is working to develop environmentally and financially sustainable projects with broad community support in a framework of close cooperation and coordination between Mexico and the United States.