The Arkansas Valley Conduit, a 130-mile water pipeline that would serve as many as 40 communities and 50,000 people east of Pueblo, is receiving a major financial boost to begin construction, decades after the project was authorized by the U.S. Congress.

U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., announced Tuesday that he has secured $28 million in funding for the conduit project.

The funding will come from the Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation’s Fiscal Year 2020 work plan.

"This is a project that was authorized by President (John F.) Kennedy in the 1960s. This is something that I have been working on since my time in the (Colorado) statehouse to Congress and this is the first time we've received a significant amount of funding for the conduit,” Gardner told The Pueblo Chieftain Monday by telephone from Washington, D.C.

"The people of the Arkansas Valley have been waiting for decades for clean, affordable water. This starts to deliver it in a meaningful way. It's getting actual construction — shovels in the ground — underway and enough funding to get it to the first town."

Gardner said the $28 million in funding will help finish final design, pre-construction costs and begin construction to get to Boone, the first community in need of water.

"I have been working with the White House and the office of Management and Budget for a number of years to get the Arkansas Valley Conduit funded far beyond what we have been able to do over the past several years," Gardner said.

The conduit, part of the original Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, would bring water from Pueblo Dam to Lamar and Eads, serving about 40 communities along the route. As it will bypass the Arkansas River, including the portion on Pueblo's lower East Side where Fountain Creek dumps into the river, it is seen as a regional solution to drinking water quality problems facing rural communities of Southeastern Colorado.

Many of those water providers are facing enforcement action for high levels of naturally occurring radionuclides in well water. A new source of clean water through the Arkansas Valley Conduit is the least expensive alternative, according to a 2013 Environmental Impact Statement.

The conduit was authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1962, and Kennedy visited Pueblo in 1962 to sign the bill. Throughout this nearly half-century of planning, water reserved for Pueblo and the Arkansas Valley Conduit was seen as integral to the entire Fry-Ark Project.

Gardner said he is grateful to President Donald Trump, Acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, and the leadership of the Bureau of Reclamation for working with him to deliver such a strong federal funding commitment.

"We are very grateful and thankful for the work of Senator Gardner and our delegation in securing this funding,” said Bill Long, president of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, sponsor of the AVC. "This amount of money is a real milestone in the history of the project."

In addition to Gardner, Long thanked U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Colo., and U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., for their efforts in supporting the AVC.

Long said it is a wonderful example of bi-partisan support and partnership of federal, state and local officials that is needed to secure a safe drinking water supply, not only for the people of Southeastern Colorado, but for every rural American.

In a statement, Bennet said he is "thrilled" with the latest development.

“For more than five decades, Coloradans in the Southeastern corner of our state have been waiting for the federal government to fulfill its promise to deliver clean drinking water to their communities. Since I came to the Senate, we’ve worked together to pursue any and every avenue possible to ensure we fulfill that promise and build the Arkansas Valley Conduit,.

"I’m thrilled this project is one step closer to breaking ground and ensuring that families in Southeastern Colorado have access to a safe water supply.”

Tipton, who also worked to help get the conduit funded, said access to clean and reliable water is critical to Coloradan families.

"And for years, the Colorado delegation has worked to secure funding for the AVC Project,” Tipton said. “Completion of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project has been a top priority during my time in Congress and I am grateful the BoR has made good on its word to prioritize the needs of economically distressed regions, especially those in Colorado. I am proud to have worked with the local water conservation districts, my colleagues in the House and Senate, and the members of the Trump Administration to get this project closer to the finish line.”

State Sen. Larry Crowder, R-Alamosa, whose district covers the majority of area affected by the project, also weighed in.

“Despite being authorized by President Kennedy nearly 60 years ago, Southern Colorado’s water needs have been put on the back burner year after year by the federal government,” Crowder said. "Thanks to Sen. Gardner’s leadership, we will finally see those promises begin to be fulfilled.

"This is a big deal for dozens of communities in my district and I’m excited to see the Arkansas Valley Conduit finally move forward."

Buck said the state is known for its crystal-clear streams, but for nearly 50,000 people in Southeastern Colorado, access to fresh drinking water has been a challenge.

“That’s why I’m extremely grateful to announce that after years of fighting for clean drinking water in the Lower Arkansas Valley, we have secured $28 million in funding to start construction on the Arkansas Valley Conduit. Thank you to Interior Secretary Bernhardt and the Bureau of Reclamation for working with us to secure funding for this important project," Buck said.

Gardner said the communities of the Lower Arkansas Valley deserve clean drinking water, which the Arkansas Valley Conduit will supply for generations to come.

"This is so important to the future of these communities and I have been in every single one of these communities. I have gone through their drinking water and wastewater treatment plants and I’ve talked to their mayors and their (county) commissioners. I know what this means for their ability to grow and to survive," Gardner said.

"This is really significant and this is a huge, huge commitment: this is about making sure that we help all four corners of Colorado. It’s not just Denver. It’s not just Boulder — it's also the four corners of Colorado that deserve help.”

amestas@chieftain.com

Twitter: @mestas3517