The residents in the Mines Road and SH 359 planning areas are not provided water service by any water purveyor. Some residents utilize individual wells that only produce non-potable water. Most lots within the planning areas are not large enough (considering the existence of numerous dwellings per lot) to accommodate the construction of on-site sewage facilities and private water wells while still maintaining the minimum separation requirements. Residents must rely on external sources for their potable water needs.
The residents in both planning areas do not have access
to a centralized wastewater system. All
of the residents utilize some type of on-site system as their primary means of
wastewater disposal. As a whole, these
on-site systems are substandard and include undersized and poorly constructed
septic systems, pit privies, and open cesspools. Numerous makeshift gray water systems are also present in both
planning areas, which discharge laundry and kitchen wastewater to the ground
surface in an effort to minimize the hydraulic loading on the existing septic
tank systems.
The
current number of households and population for the fifteen colonias in 2000 is
787 and 3,725, respectively. The
proposed water and wastewater improvements are designed to provide adequate
water and sewer service to the Year 2016 for 1,193 households and 5,649 colonia
residents.
In
addition to the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) – Economically Distressed
Areas Program (EDAP) funding, additional funding for the project will be
obtained from Webb County and the North America Development Bank
(NADBank). Using NADBank as a source of
funds for the water and wastewater improvements was recognized due to the TWDB
limitations associated with the cost per connection. Additionally, the TWDB
made a determination that On-Site Systems could be used for all of the colonias
in the Mines Road Planning Area; however, a conventional wastewater collection
and treatment system is recommended for four of the five Mines Road colonias
for long-term sustainability.
Obtaining
a source of funding from NADBank is critical to ending the continuing health
risk posed by the present use of inadequate septic tanks or cesspools as noted
by the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission (TNRCC) Nuisance Finding
(Appendix C). Adding new connections to
the utility system will also provide additional revenues to meet the debt
service obligations incurred by the TWDB-EDAP Project (approximately $1.5
million loan to City of Laredo).
The City of Laredo defined the concept and the monetary requirements for implementation of the water and wastewater improvements. The outline of the needs and the funding required was submitted as a Step 1 Format to the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) on April 8, 1999. A summary of the proposed project costs by sources and uses is shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1 |
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COSTS OF PROPOSED PROJECT and SOURCES and USES OF FUNDS |
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FUNDING AGENCY |
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TOTAL COST ($'s) |
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WASTEWATER DESCRIPTIONS |
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TWDB-EDAP |
LOS CORRALITOS ON-SITE SYSTEMS |
$128,850 |
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TWDB-EDAP - * |
SH 359 AREA WW COLLECTION LESS LOS TANQUECITOS |
$5,755,656 |
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WEBB COUNTY |
LOS TANQUECITOS 1 WW COLLECTION |
$527,415 |
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NADBANK - ** |
MINES ROAD AREA WW COLLECTION / TREATMENT LESS LOS CORRALITOS |
$4,627,150 |
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TOTAL COSTS
FOR WASTEWATER IMPROVEMENTS |
$11,039,071
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WATER DESCRIPTIONS |
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TWDB-EDAP |
MINES ROAD AREA WATER DISTRIBUTION LESS LOS CORRALITOS |
$2,891,314 |
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TWDB-EDAP - * |
SH 359 AREA WATER DISTRIBUTION LESS 16" WATER LINE |
$5,963,017 |
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WEBB COUNTY |
LOS CORRALITOS |
$83,560 |
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NADBANK - ** |
16" WATER LINE ALONG SH 359 |
$1,604,300 |
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TOTAL COSTS
FOR WATER IMPROVEMENTS |
$10,542,191
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SUMMARY OF WATER AND WASTEWATER COSTS |
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TWDB-EDAP - * |
MINES ROAD AND SH 359 PROJECT AREA, LESS NADBANK & COUNTY |
$14,738,837 |
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WEBB COUNTY |
LOS TANQUECITOS 1 – WW COLLECTION AND LOS CORRALITOS – WATER |
$610,975 |
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NADBANK - ** |
MINES ROAD – WW COLLECTION, 16" WATER LINE & ALL
SERVICE CONNECTIONS |
$6,231,450 |
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TOTAL PROJECT
COSTS FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER IMPROVEMENTS |
$21,581,262
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NOTES: |
* - COST FOR WATER/SEWER CONNECTIONS NOT INCLUDED |
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** - COST FOR WATER/SEWER CONNECTIONS INCLUDED |
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