[ADEQ Media] ADEQ Director Owens Announces $800, 000 in Funding to Construct and Operate Drinking Water Treatment System for Valle Verde Water Company in Nogales

[media@lists.azdeq.gov]

ADEQ Director Owens Announces $800,000 in Funding to Construct and
Operate Drinking Water Treatment System for Valle Verde Water Company in
Nogales 

PHOENIX (April 25, 2008) - Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
Director Steve Owens today announced that ADEQ will provide an estimated
$800,000 to fund the construction and operation of a water treatment
system for Valle Verde Water Company in Nogales. ADEQ is providing the
funds from its Water Quality Assurance Revolving Fund (WQARF), which
addresses soil and groundwater contamination.

In January 2007, customers of Valle Verde, located east of Interstate
19, were informed by the water company of the detection of
tetrachloroethylene (PCE), an industrial solvent, at concentrations
above the maximum contaminant level of 5 micrograms per liter in samples
collected from Wells 1, 2, 4 and 7 in Valle Verde's system.

As a result, alternate drinking water supplies were provided.  ADEQ has
been working with Valle Verde and the City of Nogales since that time to
address the PCE contamination and establish a permanent solution for the
water supply problem.

"We are committed to implementing a long-term solution to the PCE
contamination so that residents in the area are assured of safe and
reliable drinking water," Director Owens said. "We are making a
substantial commitment of resources to address this problem."

The WQARF funding will be used for construction and operation expenses
for a granular activated carbon (GAC) treatment system at site of Valle
Verde Well #2. The system will consist of two GAC contact vessels where
contaminated water will flow through and PCE will be absorbed by the
carbon. Storage tanks also will be constructed at Valle Verde Wells #2
and #3 to aid in distribution of treated water. The construction is
expected to take about one year. 

In addition to construction of the water treatment system, ADEQ is
working with Valle Verde and the City of Nogales to construct a pipeline
connection between their two systems which could be used by Valle Verde
during potential future water supply emergencies. Such interconnection
agreements are common between neighboring water supply systems.

-30-

News media interested in additional information on this or any other
topic concerning the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality should
contact the Office of Communications at (602) 771-2215 or via email at
communications@azdeq.gov.

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