Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his support on this bill.

I rise to speak in favor of my bill, H.R. 131, Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act, to help complete construction of a critical infrastructure project that will provide tens of thousands of southeast Colorado residents with access to clean water.

Southeast Coloradans have waited decades for the completion of the Arkansas Valley Conduit. While we have made a lot of progress in the recent years and the first two segments of the project are under construction, we still have a long way to go.

This bipartisan and bicameral legislation will help the Bureau of Reclamation and local governments finally complete this major water project. Rural communities in southeastern Colorado need and deserve access to clean, reliable, and affordable water they can utilize on a daily basis.

Once completed, the Arkansas Valley Conduit will provide 7,500-acre- feet of water per year to as many as 50,000 Coloradans across 40 different communities in Pueblo, Otero, Bent, Kiowa, Prowers, and Baca Counties.

The Arkansas Valley Conduit was originally approved for construction as a part of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project that was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy in 1962. Congress amended this law in 2009 to tackle water quality concerns and make clear that 35 percent of total project costs would be repaid with interest from miscellaneous revenues.

The original 1962 law also made clear that the costs of annual operation and maintenance for this important project would be paid for by the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District.

Radium, uranium, and other naturally occurring elements are found in the surface and groundwater in southeastern Colorado, and the water quality is problematic year-round because of its salinity, selenium, sulfate, hardness, and manganese levels.

The Bureau of Reclamation has found these contamination levels are so severe that local communities could see the costs of their drinking water triple without this legislation.

The Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act will ease the burden of inflation costs that have caused the original $640 million estimate of construction in 2019 to rise to more than $1.3 billion. There have been a number of modifications to the proposed Arkansas Valley Conduit over the years that have reduced the cost by as much as $200 million.

I thank the Bureau of Reclamation and the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District for working with us in drafting this critical legislation. I am grateful to have their support as we work to get this bill signed into law.

Access to clean water is not a luxury. It is a necessity. Southeast Colorado families and businesses deserve a reliable and sustainable water supply.

It is time we fully and finally fulfill the promises the Federal Government made to the communities I represent in Colorado and finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair for his support and I urge adoption.

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