Background

The city receives it water from the Donna Irrigation District, Hidalgo County No. 1 and provides service to approximately 99 percentof its population. Water services for many of the 20 colonias surrounding the city are provided by the North Alamo Water Supply Corporation (North Alamo WSC) and the Colonia Nueva Water Supply Corporation (Colonia Nueva WSC). The latter purchases treated water wholesale from Donna.

Donna’s original water plant was constructed in 1918 with process improvements made in 1947 and 1987. The existing water plant treats only 3.42 million gallons per day (mgd), which is considered insufficient to meet future water needs of this rapidly growing community. In addition, the plant has been cited for numerous violations by the Texas Environmental Quality Commission (TEQC).

Wastewater collection and treatment is also provided by the City to approximately 50 percent of the population. The existing wastewater treatment plant has a treatment capacity of 2.3 mgd, which is insufficient to meet the needs of the growing service area population as well as the colonias, which do not currently receive service. Instead, colonia residents often utilize septic tanks or open pit privies to dispose of their sewage, which has resulted in the contamination of surface water resources.

Description

Major water system improvements:

Phase I

• Construction of a new water treatment plant with a treatment
  capacity of 4.5 mgd.
• Construction of an elevated storage tank with a minimum
  capacity of 200,000 gallons.
• Expansion of the water distribution system to serve six additional
  colonias.
• Construction of an interconnection with the North Alamo WSC to
  provide 1.5 mgd of additional treatment capacity.

Phase II

• Distribution system improvements, including replacement of
  deteriorated waterlines

Major Wastewater System Improvements:

• Increasing wastewater treatment capacity by 0.4 mgd for a total
  capacity of 2.7 mgd.
• Expanding the collection system to accommodate additional
  flows and extend service to the surrounding colonias.
• Eliminating 10 of the 13 existing lift stations and replacing two of
  those lift stations.

Benefits

This project will improve the city’s water quality and provide service to additional colonias surrounding the city. In addition, upgrades and replacements to the existing wastewater system will provide colonia residents with sewer service for the first time, drastically reducing the health risks associated with the use of septic tanks.