Today, Rep. Pete Aguilar announced that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the City of Rialto $291,000 to improve and upgrade its drinking water system.

Rep. Aguilar said, “Access to safe drinking water is a basic and necessary responsibility that we have to uphold for the safety of our residents. I was happy to support this initiative and I’m glad to have partners like Mayor Robertson and the City of Rialto looking out for our community members to make sure every family has the support they need from their leaders to live healthy and safe lives.”

Mayor Deborah Robertson said, “As the drought continues in California, Rialto is prepared to provide its residents with safe and reliable drinking water. The improvement of the SCADA system ensures that our water system is running as efficient and cost effective as possible.”

The federal funds will go toward an existing project to invest in Rialto’s water infrastructure and improve the drinking water system. Infrastructure investments include the installation of a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. This system will help monitor and manage the water treatment and distribution system, and takes additional steps to maintain clean and safe drinking water for Rialto residents. The City of Rialto is contributing $1,495,061, or 83.7 percent of the $1,786,061 total project cost.

Since taking office, Rep. Aguilar has helped return millions of dollars in federal funds to Inland Empire communities to improve infrastructure, reduce veteran homelessness, access necessary resources for law enforcement and more. Additional information on applying for federal grants can be found at https://aguilar.house.gov/services/resources/grant-applicants.