Where:
Arizona, California and New Mexico

Problem:
Colonias located along the U.S. – Mexico border lack water and wastewater infrastructure, which creates health risks.

Solution:
RCAC staff helped update a database to illustrate improvements at the colonias, as well as priorities for technical assistance.

Limited access to drinking water and poor wastewater infrastructure contribute to health risks in the colonia-designated communities along the U.S.—Mexico border, many of which are classified as in “high need” of technical, managerial and financial assistance.

In 2009, the U.S. Government Accountability Office recommended that an inter-agency task force be formed to examine and identify the colonias’ most pressing problems. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) joined forces to start a five-phase regional study, focusing on water and waste disposal, public health, environmental quality, economic status and past public investment. The first phase was completed in December 2013.

A second phase was started in June 2014 and was completed and released in July 2015. Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) coordinated the work while Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) inventoried the infrastructure needs in colonia-designated communities in California, Arizona and New Mexico. Communities Unlimited (CU) documented the needs for Texas.

This second phase concentrates on water and wastewater availability in the colonias and includes recommendations for infrastructure projects. In some cases the recommendations extend to other infrastructure needs such as reliable roads and electricity; encouraging community involvement and local leadership; and increasing technical, managerial and financial capacity.

CU led the team that developed an expansive geospatial database to characterize 2,177 colonias in the 35 border counties. The data is comprehensive, including details on demographics, existing water and waste disposal infrastructure, the incidence rate of waterborne infectious disease, and access to indoor plumbing.

“We had to have data points for latitude and longitude for each colonia,” said Mark Rounsvall, RCAP program director at CU. “We had to show where water lines are, if a colonia was being served, if they weren’t and if not, if existing water was adequate. We had to include which wastewater disposal was being used and if it is adequate. We interviewed hundreds of people, residents, utility providers, state and county officials, and came up with cost estimates for many projects.”