Tucson Standard

WASHINGTON – On July 20, Representative Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07) announced the City of Tucson would receive $958,419 for the Joaquin Murietta Splashpad. The funding was awarded by the National Park Service as part of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).

Grijalva is a fierce champion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. During his decades in public service he has made it his mission to permanently authorize, and fully fund this program that protects public spaces for all.  Rep. Grijalva helped secure one of most significant investments in environmental conservation in a generation, including to fully fund the LWCF with the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020.

“Providing resources for parks and greenspaces is a vital community investment. In addition to bringing families and friends together, splash pads are an environmentally friendly and sustainable option for our communities to cool down during the hot summer months,” said Rep. Grijalva. “This splash pad is a wonderful example of the impact of a fully funded Land and Water Conservation Fund program and I’ll continue to support projects like this that improve communities across the nation.”

“As Council Member, I advocated for Joaquin Murrieta Park to receive over $12 million dollars in Proposition 407 funds. Council Member Santa Cruz has continued the work to advocate for necessary investments at Murrieta,” said Tucson Mayor Regina Romero. “These federal funds bring the total investment in Murrieta Park to $13.7 million dollars which will go a long way towards building the amenities the neighbors said they wanted. I thank Congressman Grijalva for his commitment to bring federal investments to the City of Tucson.”

“Mid-way through my term we canvassed 10,000 doors in Ward One to hear directly from our community. Across the board, it was made abundantly clear that the Westside and Southside want the same type of investments as other parts of the city,” said Council Member Lane Santa Cruz. “I am incredibly grateful to Congressman Raúl Grijalva for his advocacy and partnership in bringing in federal dollars into our community to build the first splash pad of this style in all of Ward One.”

The project is expected to include shade structures, safety fencing, amenities and an equipment building storage area supporting the operation and maintenance of the splashpad.

More information on the grant can be found here.

Original source can be found here.