\u201cI am disappointed Congress did not vote to override the president\u2019s veto,\u201d Hurd said in a statement to The Durango Herald<\/em>. \u201cI worked my hardest to get as much support from members, and I will continue to work hard to fund this project and deliver clean water for rural Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n According to a Thursday news release from Hurd\u2019s office, the Arkansas Valley Conduit project was first authorized by Congress in 1962. In his first term, Trump celebrated the project, and former Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt broke ground on the project in October 2020.<\/p>\n The project was promised to bring clean water to some 50,000 residents of southeast Colorado who currently rely on \u201ccontaminated and radioactive groundwater for drinking,\u201d according to Hurd\u2019s release. Eighteen water systems in the region are currently under enforcement orders for violating Environmental Protection Administration standards.<\/p>\n \u201cSixty-four years later, that promise remains unfinished,\u201d Hurd said in the release. \u201cWhen we talk about honoring federal commitments, we are talking about whether the people who grow our food can count on clean water. These are real families in real towns facing real public health consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n The freshman congressman, along with Rep. Lauren Boebert, sponsored the bill, which passed both the House and the Senate with bipartisan support in 2025. In 2009, President Barack Obama\u2019s Omnibus Public Land Management Act reduced the amount communities that would rely on the Arkansas Valley Conduit project needed to repay to 35% of the total cost, with the rest being covered by the federal government.<\/p>\n \u201cH.R. 131 does not expand the project, authorize new construction or increase the federal share,\u201d the release said. \u201cThe legislation simply provides rural communities more time and flexibility to repay the federal government.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill would increase the repayment period and cut the interest rate in half, lessening the financial burden on Colorado communities while finally providing them clean, safe drinking water.<\/p>\n