News Release Archive

Reclamation Awards $91.9 million Contract for Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System

Media Contact: Mary Carlson, (505)462-3576, mcarlson@usbr.gov

For Release: February 23, 2017

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a four year, $91.9 million contract on February 22, 2017 to CDM Smith to design and build portions of the Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System in north-central New Mexico.

The Pojoaque Basin Regional Water System was authorized by Congress as part of the Aamodt Settlement Agreement under the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-291). When complete, the system will provide reliable, safe drinking water to the Pueblo de San Ildefonso, Pueblos of Nambe, Pojoaque and Tesuque, and Santa Fe County residents. It will divert water from the Rio Grande and includes diversion works, storage, a treatment plant, pipelines, pumping plants and other facilities to supply up to 4,000 acre-feet of water per year.

“This contract supports a tremendous infrastructure investment to bring clean water to these communities,” said Reclamation’s Acting Commissioner David Murillo. “We are working closely with our partners to push this project closer to reality.”

Awarding the contract now aligns with Reclamation’s draft Environmental Impact Statement public comment period, which closes on February 27, 2017. All comments will be considered in the project’s final design and Record of Decision. During the first year of the contract—with input from the pueblos, county and the EIS comment process—CDM Smith will design project facilities on the Pueblo de San Ildefonso, Jacona Land Grant and northern portions of Pojoaque Pueblo, including diversion works and a treatment plant. Construction will begin in 2018, after the Record of Decision has been signed.

Local and Native American-owned small businesses are expected to receive at least 30 percent of the work under the contract. That work could include site surveys, geotechnical testing, laboratory services, community outreach, inspection services, asphalt, earthwork, concrete work, paving, pre-engineered buildings, roofing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC systems, building finishes, security fencing, water storage tanks and pipeline construction. This contract is expected to create approximately 90 new jobs over four years.

CDM Smith is a full-service engineering and construction firm specializing in leadership and flexibility in design-build infrastructure projects. Headquartered in Boston, Mass., the company has offices around the world, including in Albuquerque, N.M.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.