Residents in Winterhaven adjacent to Yuma will continue to have clean and safe drinking water, thanks to a $1.5 million grant announced Monday.
The Winterhaven County Water District grant is through the Water and Waste Facility Loans and Grants to Alleviate Health Risks for Colonias program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development department.
A district official said they will use the funding to build a new groundwater well for the entire community and ensure their office building, which is small and showing its age, is safe and accessible for all.
USDA Rural Development officials said Winterhaven is a colonia, or an economically distressed neighborhood or community within 150 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. The California community previously received a Special Evaluation Assistance for Rural Communities and Households or SEARCH Grant from the USDA to plan and design the project.
At a press conference Monday in Winterhaven, Farah Ahmad, the Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development said the water well project was part of more than $81 million in investments from the Biden-Harris administration for more than 200 projects in 42 states.
““The investment we’re announcing in Winterhaven’s water system today will give peace of mind and assurance that the water is safe and clean every time anyone here in the community turns on the faucet,” Ahmad said.
Officials said Winterhaven uses one well now, with no backup.
“I want to thank the USDA. Without this help, there’s no way we could afford the well,” said Rick Miller on behalf of the water district. “We just don’t have the funds for it. We would have had to raise everybody’s rates just to get it paid for or (we would have to) get an expensive loan and try to pay it off at some point.”
Ahmad and Miller were joined by USDA officials including Arizona state director Charlene Fernandez and California State Director Maria Gallegos Herrera.
