Required Investments in Basic Environmental 

Infrastructure by State and Sector

U.S.-Mexico Border Region

Border Environment Cooperation Commission

RELEVANT DATA: INVESTMENT NEEDS FOR BASIC ENVIRONMENTAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Population of Mexican border region served by BECC: The 300-Km. region served by BECC within the six Mexican

border states has 224 municipalities and a population of 16.8 million people, based on information from the 2010

Census conducted by Mexico’s National Institute on Statistics and Geography.

Basic Sectors addressed by BECC: The BECC has focused on four sectors of Basic Environmental Infrastructure: Potable

Water; Wastewater Collection; Wastewater Treatment; and Management of Municipal Solid Waste.

Investment: The investment needs for those four sectors is estimated to be $1.468 billion: Potable Water 13%;

Wastewater Collection 17%; Wastewater Treatment 45%; and 25% for Municipal Solid Waste Management.

$293.10 

$228.18 

$213.31 $290.44 

$190.86 

$252.42 

Required Investment by State (amount 

and percentage)

1.468 billion

Baja 

California

Sonora

Chihuahua

Coahuila

Nuevo León

Tamaulipas

13%

17 % 20 %

16 %

19 % 15 %

$195.74 

$252.81 

$658.07 

$361.69 

Total Investment needed by Sector 

Potable 

water 

WW Collect.

WW Treatm. 

Solid Waste

13%

17%

45%

25%
Required Investments in Basic Environmental 

Infrastructure by State and Sector

U.S.-Mexico Border Region

Border Environment Cooperation Commission

RELEVANT DATA: INVESTMENT NEEDS FOR BASIC ENVIRONMENTAL INFRASTRUCTURE

Population of US border region served by BECC: The 100-Km. region served by BECC within the four US border states

has 36 counties and a population of approximately 7 million people.

Basic Sectors addressed by BECC: The US border region needs assessment is focused on defining the lack of access to

centralized water and wastewater services as well as to evaluate service needs in the sectors of solid waste and air

quality within the 100 km border region. While the primary gap in centralized service coverage primarily exists in the

rural setting, an investment may likely be required whether connecting to a centralized system or making improvements

to address drinking water quality or adequate on-site ww disposal. Therefore, the estimated investment needs are

calculated considering the cost to provide centralized service in a rural setting, considering that on-site improvements

may reflect similar investment size. The effort utilizes data obtained primarily from public information sources.

Highlighted below are the preliminary findings of the task.

General Findings:

• Water/Wastewater Access: The investment needs for addressing the un-served households with centralized water

and wastewater service is $8.46 billion. Many drinking water systems in the border region do not comply with EPA

Primary Drinking Water Quality Standards, especially for Arsenic. In addition, strategies such as regionalization and

water/energy efficiency practices are important to promote the effective use of water resources.

• Air Quality: While PM10 may be associated with high-wind events in the area, this condition is also likely influenced

by highly traveled unpaved roads in densely populated rural areas. Approximately 18,500 miles of unpaved

roadways exist in this area, representing an investment need of over $7 billion. In addition, counties in New Mexico,

Arizona and California have designated as non-attainment or maintenance areas.

• Solid Waste: Landfill capacity appears to be sufficient in most counties in the border region. Promotion of recycling,

reuse and reduction efforts are important to maintain this condition as well as to achieve benefits associated with

these efforts such as GHG reductions and water savings.