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Tijeras Gets Funding for Water System |
January 15, 2004 |
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Mountainview Telegraph
Telegraph Staff Report Federal funding will allow Tijeras to complete the next phase of its water system. The village received $1.2 million from the Army Corps of Engineers for phase IIIB of the multi-phase project. The water system project has been ongoing since the early 1990s. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., announced the latest funding in a news conference in Tijeras on Tuesday. Phase IIIB will complete the water system to the remainder of the village south of Interstate 40. Kevin Eades of Molzen-Corbin Associates, the village`s engineering firm, said work should begin in late summer and be completed by the spring of 2005. Wilson said Tijeras has worked long and hard to secure funding for its water system. Because of the small population and tax base of the village, it has been difficult to raise the necessary revenue for the system, which will reduce dependence on individual domestic wells. She noted that the federal support is justified by several factors, including the potential for ground-water contamination by domestic wells and septic systems and the fact that the project involves installing water lines across an interstate highway. Tijeras Village Councilor Don Johnson said the funding is a relief, because neighbors have been considering what to do about drying wells— including the possibility of moving out of the village. The $1.2 million appropriation requires a 25 percent match by the village. Mayor Gloria Chavez said the village has had the matching funds— approximately $300,000— in its budget since 2000 and has carried it over since then in anticipation of receiving funding. Wilson also said she would work this year on further appropriations for fiscal 2005 to allow the village to do the last two segments of the water system, phases IIIC and IIID. Those will provide water to village residents north of I-40 and are expected to cost approximately $1.7 million. |
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