Jon Johson File Photo/Gila Herald: Rep. Juan Ciscomani, right, shown here with Greenlee County Supervisor David Gomez, left, has come through with water infrastructure funding for Graham County.
Award part of $8 million for water projects in the district
By Jon Johnson
WASHINGTON D.C. – One of the three local projects Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R, AZ-06) has committed to securing funding for has been approved.
During the last week of June, the House Appropriations Committee passed its package for Interior and Environment in Fiscal Year 2025.
The package includes $8 million for water projects in Ciscomani’s district, including $1.2 million for Graham County to update its water and sewer lines. The funds will replace some of the county’s 40-year-old waterlines and allow the county to utilize treated wastewater from the city of Safford for non-drinking purposes.
“Arizona leads the way in water conservation and this investment will allow our communities to continue paving the way in their water management efforts,” Ciscomani said in a press release. “I am thrilled to have utilized my role on the House Appropriations Committee to initially secure $8 million to build upon Arizona’s water sustainability efforts while maintaining a goal of fiscal responsibility.”
In addition to the award to Graham County, his other water-related funding requests approved in the package include nearly $1 million to the city of Tombstone to replace its water reclamation facility, $2.25 million to the town of Marana to improve source water systems at the Marana Regional Airport, $1.75 million for the town of Marana to design and construct a new groundwater treatment facility, and $1.75 million to the city of Tucson to connect two reclamation facilities to maximize the city’s retention and reuse of the local water supply.
Ciscomani previously earmarked $26 million in projects for Southern Arizona during Fiscal Year 2024, including $2 million in funding for Pima’s new fire station. That funding was approved in March when the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee passed a package that included 13 projects recommended by Ciscomani. Out of those 13 projects approved by the Committee, three are going to Graham and Greenlee counties with the $2 million for Pima’s fire station; $1.3 million for the Graham County Gila River Linear Park and Trail Project, and $274,00 for the town of Duncan and Hunter Estates Drainage Mitigation and Design in Duncan. Ciscomani also got $859,000 for Northern Cochise County Community Hospital in Willcox.
Ciscomani sits on the Appropriations Committee and has again included a Pima project in his list for potential funding for Fiscal Year 2025 if passed by the committee.
His new list of 15 applications includes the $1.2 million for Graham County to replace the water lines and utilize reclaimed water provided by the city of Safford as well as $2.5 million in federal funding to construct a new street and traffic light connecting U.S. Highway 70 to the new Pima High School under construction, and $2.2 million to the town of Duncan to pave approximately 4,060 feet on Main Street and High Street. The funds for Pima and Duncan have yet to be approved by Congress.
