Tierra Buena Water Company Inc., a small, private water company in the West Valley, is taking steps to ensure safe drinking water for its approximately 120 customers in an unincorporated community, north of Litchfield Park and west of Glendale in Maricopa County. 

The Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA) has closed a $210,891 loan with Tierra Buena for infrastructure improvements to address arsenic issues. WIFA financing will be used to improve the drinking water system, which includes the installation of a metered connection with Valley Utilities and rehabilitation of one of their wells. It is expected that the well rehabilitation will reduce arsenic levels below the standard allowable amount. If more treatment is required, the company may ask for a second loan to install a centralized arsenic treatment system.

In 2011, Tierra Buena received a $27,000 technical assistance funding award from WIFA to design arsenic removal equipment and booster pump upgrades.

“This was one of those model projects where the water company received technical assistance funding for the design phase and then financed the construction with a WIFA loan,” WIFA Chief Financial Officer Trish Incognito said. “By design, WIFA's technical assistance funding program helps prepare water and wastewater facilities for future infrastructure project construction, and we’re happy to see these programs work together to benefit this community.”