FEMA Funds Sediment Removal from Nambe Reservoir in Santa Fe County, New Mexico

DENTON, Texas – Nearly $2.4 million has been awarded to the state of New Mexico from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for removal of sediment from the Nambe Reservoir in Santa Fe County.

During the severe storms in Sept. 2013, heavy rains flooded multiple arroyos, acequias – communal irrigation canals – and various rivers in central New Mexico causing sediment to be deposited in the Nambe Reservoir. The reservoir provides water for municipal and irrigation use in the Pojoaque Valley Irrigation District.

“Removal of sediment from the reservoir is an important step in the recovery process,” said FEMA Region 6 Administrator Tony Robinson. “This project is part of our continuing partnership with the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to assist with ongoing recovery in Santa Fe County.”

The Public Assistance grant program funding covers the removal, hauling away and proper disposal of nearly 41,000 cubic yards of sediment from the reservoir, which is enough sediment to fill the truck beds of more than 20,000 average-sized pickups!

This grant is part of more than $38.5 million in Public Assistance grants that have been obligated to the state of New Mexico related to the severe storms and flooding in Sept. 2013. The awarded funding represents a 75 percent federal cost share. FEMA awards funding for projects directly to the state of New Mexico; the state then forwards the grant to the eligible applicant.

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