About 2,600 Montana Vista residents will transition to a modern wastewater system thanks to almost $29 million in financial help from the Texas Water Development Board.
El Paso Water will use the money to construct a wastewater system for about 775 homes in the area, and once the system is built, the residents will stop using their current septic tanks.
"So the residents of the area are not going to be able to pay for the regular maintenance and upkeep of their septic system because now they are going to be connected to the wastewater system," said Irazema Rojas, chief technical officer for El Paso Water. "There's going to be a fee like anybody else for the treatment of their waste and their conveyance, which is tied to the amount of consumption of water."
Rojas said the installation of wastewater systems will help alleviate issues some residents face.
"Some of the septic systems were either poorly constructed or poorly maintained so there was overflows, there was a lot of issues in the area," Rojas said.
The approved $28 million in financial assistance consists of $8 million in financing and a $20 million dollar grant from the Economically Distressed Areas Program.
Rojas said the funding will be used to help cover the removal of septic systems at some homes.
Bidding for the project is expected to begin in March and construction will take place approximately three to four months later. The project is expected to take one year and a half and will be followed by phase 3.
Rojas encourages homeowners in the Montana Vista community to contact the El Paso Central Appraisal District to make sure their information is up to date.
"When the time comes when we need to do the paperwork and the applications, we need the person that is legally authorized to make decisions on behalf of that property," Rojas said
Meantime, residents who live at the Hueco Mountain Estate roughly 10 minutes up the road from where the wastewater system could go up say they also need a similar system.
“It’s growing over here. It’s booming. We need the water no matter what," said Cesar Hernandez, who lives in the area.
“We only have one water tank that is used for everything," said Sandy Garcia. "It’s a struggle”
Garcia and Hernandez both said they have to fill up large black tanks several times a month and rely on septic tanks to manage their wastewater.
“It’s just too much expensive," said Hernandez. "It’s $100 for three weeks."
“It’s connected to everything like the restroom and everything. I have to fill it up literally like 3-4 times a month," added Garcia.
They say sometimes this system can create some headaches.
“They [tanks] would freeze because it’s not installed right. They need insulation."
Hernandez said if they had a modern wastewater system installed, it would make a big difference in his community.
“We wouldn’t have to be depending on the trucks coming in," said Hernandez.
Sign up for our newsletter and get each day's top news stories delivered to your inbox.