FACT SHEET 2013

U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program

U.S.- Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program:

Tribal Border Infrastructure Program

Public Health Benefits:

Investments that provide sanitary 

sewer services and access to 

clean drinking water drastically 

reduces the spread of infectious 

diseases such as legionellosis, 

typhoid fever, and shigella.

Environmental Benefits:

Protecting water quality from 

untreated or inadequately treated 

wastewater discharge improves 

ecosystem health and the food on 

which these communities depend.

Economic Benefits:

Sanitation improvements can 

increase overall worker productivity by minimizing number of

missed days due to illness. Additionally, infrastructure projects 

create jobs in tribal communities.

The Tribal Border Infrastructure Program addresses the high priority water and wastewater 

needs of 25 federally recognized Indian Tribes 

eligible for funding. Photo: “Blues, Reds and 

Greens” by Mark Stevens (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

There are 154 Native American tribes, totaling 

881,070 Native Americans, living within the 

four U.S. border states and 25 Native American nations within the 62.5 mille region north 

of the U.S.-Mexico border. These border 

tribes constitute a multinational mosaic of 

culture, language, history, governance, topography, and remoteness that pose complex 

challenges when addressing issues of disproportionate poverty and infrastructure needs. 

In 1997, the U.S.-Mexico Border Water Infrastructure Program (BWIP) established a Tribal 

Border Infrastructure Program (TBI) to address water and wastewater needs for U.S. 

federally-recognized Indian Tribes along the 

California and Arizona border. Funded from 

BWIP appropriations, the TBI program in turn 

funds high priority drinking water and 

wastewater infrastructure projects through 

Interagency Agreements (IAs) with the Indian 

Health Service or direct grants to tribes. 

Due to resource limitations, funding is allocated to this effort every other year to help address tribal border infrastructure needs. 

The program focuses on providing safe drinking water and adequate sanitation to the 25 

Tribes eligible for TBI funding out of 147 federally-recognized border tribes in California 

and Arizona. The Indian Health Service (IHS) 

has identified 80 high-priority tribal drinking 

water and wastewater projects, 25% of which 

would provide first-time connections to safe 

drinking water and sanitation facilities. Such 

connections minimize the risk of pathogen 

outbreak, opportunity cost of travelling for 

water collection and wastewater disposal, 

and severe impairment of land and water 

resources.

Since 1997, the program has awarded $36 

million dollars of BWIP funds to meet tribal 

border infrastructure needs. To date, the program has funded over 70 projects and provided safe drinking water or adequate sanitation 

services to over 10,000 tribal homes. In FY13, 

the program received approximately $1.4 

million of BWIP’s funds that will provide 

222 tribal homes with critically needed drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. 
2

Tribal Border Program Highlights in 2013

Office of Wastewater Management

EPA-832-F-14-011

September 2014

Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation

Safe Drinking Water Project

Located in the western part of the Carrizo Desert of California, the Tribe’s sole source of drinking water comes from an 

aquifer threatened by water quality problems related to the 

proximity of septic tanks, coliform bacteria, nitrate, and excessive sanding in over 

half the wells. 

The TBI program 

awarded $346,660 to 

restore 21 wells, drill 3 

new wells, and install 4 

small water storage 

tanks. This project provided reliable drinking 

water to 20 tribal 

homes and 4 community buildings, minimizing the risk of waterborne illnesses.

La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians

Poomacha Tank Rehabilitation

La Jolla Band is located near Mount Palomar in Southern California. The TBI program provided $296,000 in BWIP funds 

for the rehabilitation of 

the 96,000-gallon water storage tank serving 

the Poomacha community and construction 

of a chlorine booster 

station to increase the 

chlorine residual within 

the system. 

These improvements 

will increase the 

tribe’s access to safe 

drinking water and 

directly impact 39 

homes.

Tohono O’odham Nation

Gu Vo Lagoon Repair

The Tohono O’odham nation, the second largest tribal nation 

in the U.S., is located in the Sonoran Desert. The community 

of Gu Vo utilizes the lagoon as a means of cost-effective 

wastewater treatment to serve 73 homes. Gu Vo Lagoon’s 

capacity was reaching critical limits, with existing berms experiencing erosion issues and levels rising near the point of 

overflow. 

The TBI program allocated 

$610,000 in BWIP funds to 

expand the existing lagoon 

system to avoid an overflow situation which can 

increase the risk for public 

health-related issues and 

even more costly repairs. 

Project construction started in December 2013.

San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians

San Pasqual Tank Replacement

The San Pasqual band lives in the drier, wildfire-prone region 

of Southern California, where maintaining reliable water systems is paramount. The quality of the community’s only 

drinking water tank had 

diminished to a level in 

which significant water 

leaks were occurring at the 

tank base and joints, causing corrosion to the tank 

shell. 

The TBI program provided 

$431,465 in BWIP funds to 

replace the water tank and 

minimize system loss of 

this valuable resource. 

The project is estimated to 

serve 103 homes.

The project, which includes the two 

newly installed water tanks above, 

was completed in FY13. Photo: EPA

Before improvements were made, 

the tank had several leaks which 

can affect storage capacity and 

introduce bacteria into the system. 

Photo: Josh Newcom, IHS STARS 

database

A view of Gu Vo Lagoon before 

the repairs. Photo: Tanya 

Davis, IHS STARS database

San Pasqual fire truck. Photo: © 

San Pasqual Tribe Image Gallery