EL PASO, Texas -- After four years, the city of Sunland Park finalized an agreement with the county to create a joint water utility to serve the city’s citizens.

The approval will solidify the creation of the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority, which will allow for state and federal funds to finally create a new waste water plant the city so badly needs.

"I'm happy that they are going to fix it and get a new system because that's what we need," said Luis Gonzalez, of Sunland Park.

Gonzalez is still dealing with a yellow puddle of human waste that remains in his back yard after a old pipe broke behind his home a week ago.

"You know this shouldn't happen. It happens every year,” Gonzalez said.

The reason it keeps happening isn't a new one. Sunland Park’s waste treatment plant is at capacity. The plant hasn't kept up with area’s growth.

The hope, however, is that the utility and its funds will eventually fix problems that citizens like Gonzalez face.

"This is a very large leap in favor of the citizens of Sunland Park because I think they have been dealing with this smell for a very long time," said Rep. Mary Helen Garcia, D-Dona Ana.

"The utility is a bigger entity. It has more resources and the ability to resolve [problems] in a much quicker fashion. So hopefully it will result in better service for the community in general," said Sunland Park Mayor Martin Resendiz.

The creation of the utility and its implementation is also expected to help an ongoing arsenic problem the city has faced in its drinking water.