Governor of Wyo. continues to support water solution outside of Pavillion
Getty Images/Dorling Kindersley RF | Dorling Kindersley RF
Governor Matt Mead continues to work with residents who live outside the town of Pavillion to ensure they have access to safe and reliable drinking water. The State has put forward $750,000 to install cisterns for residents who live in the Pavillion East Gas Field. The State of Wyoming is investigating potential causes of constituents of concern in some domestic water wells in the area.
The first 19 cisterns are being installed now and another 13 landowners have signed up for free cisterns. The State has also paid for a water loading station in the town of Pavillion, which is nearly complete. There is a proposal before the Legislature if additional funding is necessary to complete the cistern project.
In June 2013, Encana Oil and Gas (USA) Inc. made a grant to the Wyoming Natural Resource Foundation. Governor Mead has identified these funds to pay for water delivery to those with cisterns.
“In Wyoming we recognize the value of water and some of these residents have problems with their drinking water while others are dealing with perceptions about it. Either way I think it is appropriate that we use a portion of these funds to pay for delivery for years to come,” Governor Mead said.
Governor Mead is working with the residents outside of Pavillion on the specifics about how the funds will be used. Of the $1.5 million grant, $400,000 will go towards water delivery. Another $150,000 is going to a statewide education and awareness program through the Wyoming Association of Conservation Districts. The program will relate to best practices and permitting guidelines for the benefit of Wyoming’s citizens and industries in conjunction with initiatives that support and protect rural water supplies. Other funds are being used on the further investigation of water quality in the rural area east of Pavillion.
Residents in the area have until February 23, 2014 to sign up for a free cistern. This next round of installations will end the cistern program.
–Office of the Governor
