The Coachella Valley Water District today announced the completion of work to provide sewer service to the San Antonio Del Desierto (St. Anthony’s) mobile home park in Mecca, CA.
“This project represents our commitment to safe and effective services,” said CVWD General Manager Jim Barrett. “The sewer improvements were critical to the health and safety of the households in the mobile home park that had been relying on an outdated septic system with open lagoons located adjacent to the residential development.”
The sewer system work was especially important because high groundwater levels in the area combined with the current shallow well the community relies on posed a serious health risk to residents.
CVWD led construction of the project that will allow communities from up to one mile away to connect to the sewer pipeline. The project was made possible with grant funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the California Department of Water Resources with assistance from Pueblo Unido Community Development Corporation.
The USDA Rural Development and the California Department of Water Resources grants totaled $3,890,600, portions of which were obtained in 2018 and 2014. In addition, CVWD invested in upsizing the sewer mains and the lift station serving St. Anthony’s residents at Lincoln Street and Avenue 64. The upsizing will allow expanded services to other disadvantaged communities Approximately 700 East Valley residents will see an improvement to their living conditions.
“There is a great deal of need in disadvantaged communities in the Coachella Valley and CVWD will continue to seek grant funding for these types of projects,” Barrett said. “We appreciate the partnerships that made this project possible and look forward to continued opportunities to build this type of infrastructure.”
In 2017, CVWD founded a Disadvantaged Communities Infrastructure Task Force to assist communities in the East Valley in receiving grant funding for important infrastructure projects. The Infrastructure Task Force is comprised of representatives from local disadvantaged communities, government agencies and non-profit organizations committed to working on short-term and long-term solutions to ensure that all regional disadvantaged communities benefit.
The Coachella Valley Water District is a public agency governed by a five-member board of directors. The district provides domestic and irrigation water, agricultural drainage, wastewater treatment and reclamation services, regional storm water protection, groundwater management and water conservation. It serves approximately 108,000 residential and business customers across 1,000 square miles, located primarily in Riverside County, but also in portions of Imperial and San Diego counties.
