Secretary Salazar Announces $2.8 Million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Funding for Channel Rehabilitation Work in Arizona

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that the Bureau of Reclamation has awarded $2.86 million to AKK-De Los Santos Construction Company of Chandler, Ariz. under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Under this award, the contractor will replace or repair the concrete lining, various gate structures and siphons on channels near Yuma, Ariz., that carry agricultural return drainage flows from Gila Valley farmland to the Colorado River or its tributaries.

“These aging channels have deteriorated to the point that they have reduced the operational efficiency of the drainage system,” Secretary Salazar said. “If one of the channels or adjacent support structures failed, they could require costly emergency replacement measures. This funding will help resolve these inefficiencies, conserve usable water, and increase the system's capacity to better meet the needs of the system users.”

The specific projects will be on Drainage Pump Outlet Channels 1 and 2m near Yuma, Ariz.

The purposes of ARRA are, among others, to quickly and prudently commence activities that preserve and create jobs and to promote economic recovery, and to invest in infrastructure. Recovery Act funding must be obligated by Sept. 30, 2010.

Secretary Salazar has pledged quick and responsible implementation of the $3 billion in recovery funds that will be used by the Department of the Interior and its agencies.

Secretary Salazar has pledged unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability in the implementation of the Department of the Interior's economic recovery projects. The public will be able to follow the progress of each project on www.recovery.gov and on www.interior.gov/recovery.

Secretary Salazar has appointed a Senior Advisor for Economic Recovery, Chris Henderson, and an Interior Economic Recovery Task Force. Henderson and the Task Force will work closely with the Department of the Interior's Inspector General to ensure that the recovery program is meeting the high standards for accountability, responsibility and transparency that President Obama has set.