Background

JAD is responsible for providing water and wastewater services to area residents. The primary source of water supply for the city is the Rio Grande River. In 2011, water coverage in Matamoros was estimated at 93.5% of the population and wastewater collection at 84.3%, while wastewater treatment coverage was estimated at 30%. Wastewater treatment is currently only available on the east side of the city through a lagoon-based plant with the capacity to treat 11 million gallon a day (mgd) of sewage. Consequently, the most of the wastewater collected is discharged untreated into the Rio Grande or open-air drainage channels that eventually empty into the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, the existing water and wastewater infrastructure in many areas of the city has deteriorated and requires rehabilitation or replacement.

In 2005, JAD undertook the first phase of a project to rehabilitate and expand its water and wastewater systems and to provide wastewater treatment. This phase, which included the construction of the East Wastewater Treatment Plant, was completed and began operations in August 2008. JAD is now working on the second phase of the project, which includes increasing wastewater treatment capacity, as well as continuing to expand sewer coverage to unserved areas of the city.

Description

The project consists of the following major components:

• West Sewer Collection Infrastructure, which includes rehabilitation and expansion of four lift stations and the construction of two new lift stations, along with the related gravity and pressure main collector and force mains, to convey wastewater to the new treatment plant.
• Southwest Sewer Collection Infrastructure, which includes the construction of a sewer collection system for 34 subdivisions, along with two lift stations and a gravity and a force main that will convey the collected wastewater toward the new treatment plant.
• West Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) construction of a lagoon-based treatment facility consisting of a train of primary sedimentation tanks, followed by facultative and maturation lagoons, with the capacity to treat 12.33 mgd.

Additionally, the project includes other system improvements to both drinking water and wastewater infrastructure throughout the city, including the rehabilitation of pipelines, the installation of water meters, completion of the necessary looping conditions in the drinking water distribution system, and the acquisition of equipment.

Benefits

Expansion of the wastewater collection and treatment system will prevent untreated wastewater discharges from going into storm drains and canals that empty into Laguna Madre and Rio Grande River, which will reduce environmental contamination and the risk of waterborne diseases, thus providing a safer and healthier source of water for the city, as well as for downstream users. An estimated 7,131 households will have access to first-time wastewater services, while the wastewater currently collected through 36,825 existing sewer connections will be treated prior to discharge. Specifically, an estimated 9.47 mgd of wastewater will be collected and treated.