News and Articles
04/22/2008
Public Meetings Being Held to Discuss Pojoaque Wastewater Project
On April 30th, Santa Fe County, the Pueblo of Pojoaque, and the Española Basin Regional Planning Issues Forum invites the community to a public meeting at the Pablo Roybal Elementary School multi-purpose room in Jaconaat 6:30 PM. The meeting is being held to help residents of the Pojoaque Valley understand what the Pojoaque Wastewater Project is and also explain how Santa Fe County and the Pueblo of Pojoaque are collaborating on this project.
Regional wastewater planning activities that began in January, 1988 with the first meeting of the Espanola Valley and Pojoaque Valley Water and Wastewater Steering Committee, have led to the conceptualization of this Pojoaque Regional Wastewater Project, currently under design by the Pueblo of Pojoaque. The current phase of the wastewater collection, treatment, and water reuse project, will serve the wastewater infrastructure needs of the Pueblo and the Pojoaque Valley School District and will be located on a remote portion of Pueblo land.
On September 16, 2005, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) between the County of Santa Fe and the Pueblo of Pojoaque regarding the Pojoaque Wastewater Treatment Project was signed. Since January 2005, the Project has been planned in phases. Currently, an amendment to the MOU, dated August 28, 2007, establishes guidelines for the County and Pueblo to cooperate in the funding, procurement, planning, permitting, design, construction, development, improvement, operation, maintenance, and ownership of the Project. Funding for the Project has been received from numerous sources, including: Pueblo of Pojoaque, Department of Interior, North Central New Mexico Economic Development District, New Mexico State Legislature, State Water Trust Board, and the County of Santa Fe.
“This project is a glimpse of the future - it demonstrates how local governments can collaborate to leverage public funds to complete regional projects to the benefit of the people and the environment of the Pojoaque Valley†said Harry Montoya, County Commissioner, District 1.