USDA Rural Development State Director Terry Brunner will join the citizens living in the Colonias of La Union and Mesquite, New Mexico south of Las Cruces to celebrate Earth Day. The celebration in both communities will be highlighted with the dedication of the upgraded water systems in both communities. All together both projects received over $6-million to complete.
Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 to bring attention and to educate people to be more responsible trustees of the Earth’s environment. The two projects were picked to celebrate Earth Day because both saw higher levels of arsenic in the drinking water that had to be filtered as mandated by regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The funding provided by USDA Rural Development’s Water and Environmental Program (WEP) installed the most modern water filtration system plus new water lines.
Information from USDA