Efforts initiated to advance Tamaulipas projects toward certification

Currently, Nueva Ciudad Guerrero is facing the issue of untreated wastewater flows into the Rio Grande, largely due to the condition of the concrete pipes that make up the aging wastewater collection system and the lack of wastewater collection treatment infrastructure. The rehabilitation and expansion of the wastewater collection system and the construction of a new wastewater treatment facility will benefit more than 5,800 local residents with the additional 1,300 new wastewater connections. 

Nueva Ciudad Guerrero Mayor Nathyelli Contreras showed great enthusiasm and said she is very pleased with these types of assistance programs offered through BECC and NADB, as they greatly improve the quality of life of Guerrero residents and help prevent environmental pollution and raw wastewater discharges from ultimately flowing into the Rio Grande. 

A very similar situation challenges the community of Diaz Ordaz, where Mayor Jorge Longoria said that the local wastewater collection system only provides 15% coverage, since it has largely exceeded its life cycle and has collapsed. With support from CONAGUA and the state of Tamaulipas, both of which will help coordinate project development activities, the city can continue to work on meeting the requirements needed for project certification.

By meeting the certification requirements, the communities will be able to access grant funding from NADB's Border Environmental Infrastructure Fund (BEIF), matched by federal and state funding where applicable. This program was created to finance the implementation of high-priority municipal water and wastewater infrastructure projects in the border region.Both the BEIF and PDAP have allowed for a better distribution of water, wastewater collection, and treatment projects that have benefitted more than 12.8 million border residents. These programs have had a major impact in the area of wastewater treatment, as they have provided approximately 20 cubic meters per second of wastewater treatment capacity, thus significantly increasing wastewater coverage, particularly in Mexico. Both the BEIF and the PDAP are funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

It must be noted that in the State of Tamaulipas, BECC has achieved significant results with 20 certified projects worth approximately US $865 million, including water and wastewater treatment projects in Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros, Reynosa, Miguel Aleman, and Ciudad Mier; a storm drain project in Nuevo Laredo; three sanitary landfills in Matamoros and regional landfill facilities in Matamoros-Valle Hermoso and Frontera Chica; two street paving projects in Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo, and a broad vision, 54 megawatt wind farm project in El Porvenir, within the municipality of Reynosa.

The BECC team working in both communities consists of Regional Project Manager Temístocles Álvarez, assisted by Project Engineer Carlos Acevedo. The meetings in both communities were attended by NADB Project Manager Fernando Escárcega, CONAGUA's Northern Border General Resident Jorge A. Zapata, and CEAT's Water Infrastructure Director, Victor Moreno.