[ADEQ Media] ADEQ Director Owens Announces $200, 000 in Funding for Water Supply Pipeline in Nogales

[media@lists.azdeq.gov]

ADEQ Director Owens Announces $200,000 in Funding for Water Supply
Pipeline in Nogales

Amount Brings ADEQ Commitment to $1 Million to Fix Valle Verde System

PHOENIX (July 1, 2008) - Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
(ADEQ) Director Steve Owens announced today that ADEQ will provide
$200,000 to fund a new water pipeline between the City of Nogales water
system and an adjacent water system belonging to the Valle Verde Water
Company.

The City of Nogales has been providing drinking water to Valle Verde
through a temporary connection since early 2007 when elevated levels of
tetrachloroethylene (PCE) were found in several Valle Verde wells. PCE
is an industrial solvent commonly used in the dry cleaning industry.

The temporary connection was needed because the contaminated Valle Verde
wells were shut down due to the contamination and the remaining wells in
the Valle Verde system were not able to provide sufficient supplies of
water to the system's customers. 

Under a separate agreement between the City and Valle Verde, the new
connection will be activated only during emergencies and Valle Verde
will pay for the water supplied.

"We are absolutely committed to making sure that everyone has access to
sufficient supplies of clean drinking water," Director Owens said. "We
are adding to our substantial commitment of resources to protect the
water users in Nogales while we continue work to identify and address
the source of this contamination.  This new commitment means that we
will be providing $1 million to address this problem and help the
citizens of Nogales." 

Earlier this year, Director Owens announced that ADEQ was committing
$800,000 in funding for the construction of a groundwater treatment
system for the contaminated Valle Verde wells. Construction of that
system will take about one year.  The pipeline being constructed under
the agreement announced today will ensure that high quality drinking
water is supplied to Valle Verde during the construction period.

Funding for the pipeline is being provided through ADEQ's Water Quality
Assurance Revolving Fund, the state's Superfund program.

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News media interested in additional information on this or any other
topic concerning the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality should
contact the Office of Communications at (602) 771-2215 or via email at
communications@azdeq.gov.

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