Corrales applies for federal water grant

Corrales is looking for a permanent solution to having too much water in the wrong places with the help of the Local Infrastructure Hub.

Through the Local Infrastructure Hub, Tanya Lattin, Corrales’ deputy chief of emergency medical services and emergency management, was able to apply for the BRIC grant (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities) to help find that solution.

The Local Infrastructure Hub is a national program created last year to help small and mid-sized cities develop competitive infrastructure grant applications. It is led and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Ballmer Group, Emerson Collective, Ford Foundation and The Kresge Foundation. Its partners include the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities.

The village of Corrales is applying for a BRIC grant to expand a small wastewater treatment system that now serves residents on only one road, install a Membrane BioReactor that converts wastewater into safer forms that can be used for irrigation and watering soccer fields (but not for drinking) and to build a new water tower large enough and high enough to supply ample pressure for firefighters without needing a pump.

Given the higher property values in Corrales, obtaining a government grant requires a more specific argument as to why the community is in need. Local officials tapped into the Local Infrastructure Hub to amplify the need to support the high percentage of elderly people living in flood-prone areas, many living on modest fixed incomes.

City officials enrolled in the Local Infrastructure Hub Bootcamp series focused on building resilient communities. The Local Infrastructure Hub’s technical, data and policy experts offered them tools and hands-on support to dive deep into local statistics, trends, and documentation so they could put forth a compelling application and help deliver this funding for their community.

“We established the Local Infrastructure Hub — a national program with a consortium of expert partners — with a simple mission: ensure many more of America’s small and mid-sized municipalities can access the historic levels of federal infrastructure funding for their communities,” James Anderson, Government Innovation Program lead at Bloomberg Philanthropies, said. “We are now working in over 1,100 cities and towns nationwide to expand their capacity to navigate these once-in-a-generation opportunities, put forward competitive applications, and gain a newfound foothold in the new economy that delivers the next generation of infrastructure resilience for their residents.”