Arizona receives $12.5M for 3 water infrastructure projects

PHOENIX — Arizona will receive over $12 million in federal funding to support three water infrastructure projects.

The funding is part of the $520 million from President Joe Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, which will be distributed to 57 projects across the country.

Funds are intended to be used to improve water conveyance, storage and hydropower generation, as well as to enhance safety and provide water treatment.

“Reclamation’s commitment to ensuring our infrastructure is ready to deliver water, produce hydropower and continue providing recreation is evident in these project selections,” Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said in a Department of Interior press release last week.

“We continue to use this historic investment from President Biden’s Investing in Americas’ agenda to build drought resiliency and improve our projects to ensure continued water delivery across the west.”

Here’s what funds will do for Arizona water infrastructure

The largest allocation headed to Arizona was nearly $9 million, which will go toward funding the recoating of Glen Canyon’s outlet works to ensure downstream water commitments are met. They consist of four steel pipes with cast iron intakes, valves to control water flow and gates for draining or emergency shutdowns.

Then, approximately $2.5 million will be allocated to develop, prepare and transport road materials, along with installing security fencing around stockpile sites. These measures will help with repairing the road used to operate and maintain the west bypass drain along the final 276 miles of the Colorado River, tackling accessibility challenges and enhancing user safety.

Finally, the last allocation of $1 million will go toward replacing debilitated water control infrastructure to help with more control of flow and water levels within the backwater located within the Colorado River Indian Tribe Reservation.

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