Tour to review construction progress of wastewater infrastructure in Camargo, Tamaulipas
Camargo, Tamaulipas – Officials today toured the wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure works currently under construction in Camargo, Tamaulipas. The project is expected to cost an estimated US$3.4 million and will benefit 8,819 residents in this border community.
The project is receiving a US$2.5 million grant from the Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF), which is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and administered by the North America Development Bank (NADB). The rest of the project costs are being covered by funding from the Mexican National Water Commission (CONAGUA) and the state government.
The infrastructure consists of expanding the sewer system to unserved areas of the La Misión and El Sauz subdivisions, including the installation of residential sewer connections and the decommissioning of septic tanks, as well as replacement of a lift station, general collector and force main, and construction of a new wastewater treatment plant with the capacity to treat 0.57 million gallons a day. The plant will also have a methane capture and conversion system to reduce the impact of the greenhouse gases produced in the treatment process.
The community currently has an old lagoon-based treatment facility that does not have the capacity to treat current flows adequately, and there are deficiencies in the operation of the wastewater collection system. Moreover, the general collector is undersized, and the pumping system that conveys wastewater flows to the old treatment plant have exceeded their useful life. As a result, raw sewage has spilled into San Juan River, which flows into the Rio Grande.
Upon completion, the project is expected to improve wastewater collection and treatment services for the entire community and in particular provide first-time access to service for 347 homes in the La Misión and El Sauz subdivisions, eliminating potential exposure to untreated wastewater and thus improving their health and living conditions. Likewise, it will prevent the contamination of the local aquifer and other water bodies.
Among the officials who toured the project were Leticia Peña Villareal, Mayor of Camargo; Luis Pinto, General Manager of the state water agency Comisión Estatal del Agua (CEA), who was representing the state governor; Juan Gabriel Riestra from CONAGUA; and Temis Alvarez, Associate Director of Grant Financing from NADB.
Mr. Alvarez informed that “NADB is currently supporting the development of five projects along the Tamaulipas border, which are being funded or considered for funding with BEIF grants, along with the respective matching funds from the Mexican federal and state governments.” The combined cost of these projects is estimated at US$35.80 million. The projects under development include the infrastructure work underway in Camargo with a US$2.5 million BEIF grant; a wastewater project currently under construction in Reynosa with a US$7.08 million BEIF grant; and a wastewater project currently in procurement for Gustavo Díaz Ordaz with a US$4.50 million BEIF grant. The other two projects are located in Nueva Ciudad Guerrero and Nuevo Laredo and will have an estimated cost of US$3 million and US$6.0 million, respectively.
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NADB 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.