Certification and approval of US$16.56 million in funding for water and wastewater improvements to benefit 93,000 residents in the municipality of R�o Bravo, Tamaulipas

San Antonio, Texas - The Board of Directors of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) and the North American Development Bank (NADB) has approved the certification and financing of a water and wastewater project that will benefit 93,600 residents in the communities of Río Bravo and Nuevo Progreso, Tamaulipas. 

The US$29.2 million project certified by BECC will receive a loan and grant totaling US$16.56 million from the NADB. Sponsored by the local water utility, Comisión Municipal de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado de Río Bravo, Tamaulipas (COMAPA), the project consists of the rehabilitation of portions of the water distribution and wastewater collection systems, as well as the construction of a wastewater treatment plant to serve both communities. 

NADB funding will cover approximately 56 percent of the total cost of the project and consists of a US$3.8 million loan, as well as a US$12.76 million grant from its Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF), which is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

With water service coverage currently at 87 percent in Rio Bravo and 95 percent in Nuevo Progreso, and wastewater coverage at 66% in Río Bravo and 30% in Nuevo Progreso, this project will expand and rehabilitate the infrastructure necessary to provide reliable service to almost 100% of the population, including first-time service to currently unserved areas.

Moreover, Río Bravo and Nuevo Progreso have practically no wastewater treatment, so the project also includes the construction of a wastewater treatment plant with the capacity to treat approximately 5.48 mgd, as well as the conveyance systems to carry the wastewater from each community to the plant.  With this plant 100% of the wastewater collected will be treated, thus eliminating untreated sewage discharges from both communities that eventually empty into the Laguna Madre and Rio Grande. As a result, this project will provide a cleaner environment for local residents, as well as a safer and healthier water supply for downstream communities in the U.S. and Mexico.

BECC works to preserve, protect and improve the environment of the border region in order to enhance the well-being of U.S. and Mexican citizens, by facilitating strategic initiatives and supporting sustainable projects through a transparent, binational certification process in close coordination with the North American Development Bank, international, federal, state and local agencies, the private sector and the general public.

NADB is a financial institution established and capitalized in equal parts by the United States and Mexico for the purpose of financing environmental infrastructure projects along their common border.  As a pioneer institution in its field, the Bank is working to develop integrated, sustainable and fiscally responsible projects with broad community support in a framework of close cooperation and coordination between Mexico and the United States.