34 SOURCE spring 2021
CVWD BREAKTHROUGH
Cástulo R. Estrada and Timothy Steele, Westside Elementary School principal.
Photo courtesy of State Water Resources Control Board.
CÁSTULO R. ESTRADA is an all-around multitasker in the
desert communities of the Coachella Valley. The common
thread running through each of his many roles is his passion
for helping his community plan for a resilient water future.
Estrada manages the City of Coachella’s utilities, serves as vice
president of the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) and
was appointed to the State Water Resources Control Board's SAFER
Program Advisory Group, where he works to advance regional
solutions to address small systems at risk.
While CVWD has a long history of providing support and
assistance to small systems in their region, one example stands out
that showed the power of collaboration between federal, state and
local officials. Estrada, an engineer active in professional and water
associations, was able to play a key role in bringing safe water to an
elementary school in Thermal, California by connecting it to CVWD.
Last fall, Estrada and his colleagues took part in a virtual
groundbreaking as Westside Elementary School began a
construction project that will ultimately connect the school to safe,
reliable water from CVWD. Until now, the school has depended on a
single well with unsafe levels of contaminants, curtailing its use for
drinking and fire protection. The consolidation project was made
possible thanks to an $880,155 grant from the SAFER program and
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“Thanks to this project, teachers and staff will be able to focus
on education without worrying about a lack of drinking water or fire
protection,” Estrada said. S
Resource
http://cvwd.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=353
Rural California
Elementary School
Gets Funds to
Clean Water Supply
By SOURCE Staff
/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=353
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