Riverside County, CVWD to spend $6.2 million to upgrade sewer infrastructure in Mecca
Riverside County and the Coachella Valley Water District plan to jointly fund the expansion of sewer infrastructure in Mecca with a project that would total $6.2 million.
The county's board of supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously in support of Supervisor V. Manuel Perez’s request to allocate $3.1 million from the Fourth District’s American Rescue Plan Act funds to the water district’s Mecca Lift Station Project, meant to replace and upgrade the undersized sewer lift station in the unincorporated area. CVWD will fund the other half of the cost.
The county was awarded $240 million in ARPA funding earlier in the year and disclosed a preliminary spending plan, which included sewer, water and broadband infrastructure as a top priority. Others listed were housing, economic recovery and nonprofit assistance.
While the existing lift station, located at 66-100 Hammond Rd. in Mecca, is 30 years old and has reached maximum sewer capacity, the sewer project was described as one that would also facilitate affordable housing in Mecca, expanding the sewer system to a future 600 to 700 homes. It's also meant to accommodate expansion of the east valley campus of College of the Desert, Perez said in a statement announcing the allocation of county funds.
“For years, there has been a moratorium on growth in the Mecca community due to the lack of clean water infrastructure and sewer system capacity. With these one-time federal funds, we are able to partner with Coachella Valley Water District to put in the infrastructure that can build out the affordable housing that is needed and finally expand the College of the Desert’s east valley campus in Thermal,” Perez said.
In recent months, CVWD has accumulated over $40 million for various clean water and sewer endeavors and Mecca's lift station project is the third CVWD water/sewer infrastructure project in the community to secure funding. According to the project timeline, the lift station is planned to start construction in August 2023 with completion in June 2024.
“CVWD will continue to prioritize and support projects that help resolve social justice water issues in the ECV communities and I look forward to continued collaboration on all fronts to make this possible,” CVWD Vice President Cástulo Estrada said.
The other projects include the Ion Exchange Treatment Plant No. 7991 Project, to replace an old, non-functioning arsenic water treatment system in the east valley, which received $6 million last month from the board of supervisors.
The Avenue 66 Transmission Main Project, which recently received $23.4 million from the State Water Resources Control Board and $7 million in state budget funding requested by State Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, aims to build five miles of pipeline to extend CVWD’s clean water supply to three communities and up to 35 future water systems. Among the communities that would be able to access the new supply of clean drinking water is St. Anthony Mobile Home Park, one of the largest mobile home communities in the eastern Coachella Valley.
Eliana Perez covers the eastern Coachella Valley, including the cities of Indio and Coachella. Reach her at eliana.perez@desertsun.com or on Twitter @ElianaPress.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Riverside County, CVWD to upgrade sewer infrastructure in Mecca
