4-30-2024 1:43pm

Clean Water is the Topic with 4 Local Alamogordo City Commissioners and Rep. Gabe Vasquez This Week

Chris Edwards Editor

Alamogordo differs from most municipalities in the State of New Mexico in that the majority of its potable water supply comes from surface water.

The City of Alamogordo collects surface water from the Sacramento Mountains located to the east of the city primarily from the La Luz/ Fresnel and Alamo Canyons. Combined surface water rights from these sources is 3,969 afy.

The City of Alamogordo also pipes surface water from Bonito Lake. Located at the head waters of the Rio Bonito about 90 miles north of the city. Surface water rights from this source is approximately 1,449 afy

Surface water from Bonito Lake is shared with Holloman Air Force Base which also has water rights totaling 1,449afy. The City lost the ability to draw water from Bonito Lake in 2012 due to the Little Bear Fire and the subsequent flooding that followed.
Catastrophic floods in 2012 washed debris from the Little Bear Fire burn scar into Bonito Lake damaging the reservoir and closing the City of Alamogordo's access to its primary source of potable water for more than a decade as construction began to rehabilitate the site. The Bonito Lake Reservoir improvements reached the final phase August of 2022.

Bonito Lake Reservoir improvements "include the replacement of the sole inlet valve, introducing three additional inlet ports and valves, replacing the ladders inside and out, and recoating the interior and exterior of the intake tower originally constructed in 1943.

The city is again utilizing the lake as it continues a replenishment and restoration effort.

The City’s main source of groundwater is the La Luz Well Field located north of the city. Additional wells located around the city supplement the La Luz Well Field. The City has the right to divert 3,931 afy of groundwater.

However, because of the poor quality of water, not all wells contribute to the city’s potable water supply.

A tool Alamogordo has that few cities in the US have is a desalination plant. The Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility (BGNDRF) is a focal point for developing technologies for the desalination of brackish and impaired groundwater found in the inland states.

Located in Alamogordo, New Mexico, the $54 Million facility opened on August 16, 2007. BGNDRF brings together researchers from other Federal government agencies, universities, the private sector, research organizations, and state and local agencies to work collaboratively and in partnership and Alamogordo benefits with an additional source of clean water.

Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Congressman Gabe Vasquez announced in 2023 a $12.6 million investment from the President’s Investing in America agenda to support the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility (BGNDRF) in Alamogordo, New Mexico. This funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law benefited Alamogordo’s water supply.

Four Alamogordo City Commission members of Sharon McDonald, Warren Robinson, Nick Paul and Mark Tapley are making it their priority to ensure they understand the long term needs of Alamogordo’s water supply, and the infrastructure and environment impacts of maintaining a system for Alamogordo

So, last Friday they went of their first of a few scheduled tours of the system to become better educated by the staff on how the system operates and what does it take to ensure safe water for Alamogordo now and in the future. Last Friday they spent 7 hours getting the first round of that education. Commissioner Nick Paul who is also running for State Senator took a few photos to show just a small part of what they were learning about…

This was the first of a few planned proactive educational tours to better understand the tasks and responsibilities of maintenance of this complex system by these 4 engaged commissioners.

Along the same topic, of clean water, US Congressional Representative, Gabe Vasquez is focused on drinking water testing. He sent a letter to the State of New Mexico asking for additional water quality testing for the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority and more public engagement with residents who get their water from that utility.

“Clean drinking water should be a right, not a privilege, which is why I am committed to working to ensure that all tools available under federal law are being used to correct the injustice that residents of Doña Ana County have been facing,” Vasquez wrote in his letter to New Mexico Secretary of Environment James Kenney.

CRRUA provides water to residents in the Sunland Park and Santa Teresa areas. The utility has been fined by the state of New Mexico for drinking water violations and has been the subject of complaints and concerns from residents since last fall.

Vasquez’s letter comes following a series of NMED enforcement actions against CRRUA. Vasquez’s Office cited the following incidents.

On March 1, NMED issued $251,580 in penalties to CRRUA for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
On March 26, NMED received sampling results from CRRUA’s distribution system that showed arsenic levels above the federal maximum contaminant level (mcl) at one location.
On March 27, NMED issued an information demand letter to CRRUA as part of an investigation into failures with their arsenic treatment plant.

Here is the full text of Vasquez’s letter is below:

Dear Secretary Kenney,

Thank you for your swift action on behalf of my constituents to address the water contamination issues faced by residents who receive service from the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA). I’m writing to you today to ask your department to take all additional actions necessary to ensure the safety of my constituents, including conducting unannounced, random water quality testing throughout CRRUA’s service territory for the next calendar year.

In December 2023, CRRUA issued a “Do Not Drink” order to residents of Doña Ana County following reports of “slimy” water – an indication of high-pH water caused by a system failure. Unacceptably, CRRUA failed to notify residents of this failure for more than twenty-four hours. Also in December, New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) identified 58 deficiencies across CRRUA’s system, including with four arsenic treatment plants. According to the U.S. EPA, arsenic can cause a variety of health impacts including nausea and diarrhea and is also linked to cancer and other serious diseases.

As a result of these egregious safety violations, NMED issued an Administrative Order on March 1, 2024, under the Safe Drinking Water Act that included financial penalties, and has also initiated an investigation into CRRUA’s larger pattern of deficiencies and federal clean water statute violations. On March 26, your department received results from random testing of CRRUA’s system that identified at least one site with arsenic levels above the federal maximum contaminant level (MCL). A Washington Post article on April 18, also identified a historical pattern of arsenic exposure through the system. This level of repeated, documented safety violations is simply unacceptable and must be corrected immediately.

I appreciate your leadership on this issue to ensure that residents of Doña Ana County have access to clean water, and I request that your agency do the following as part of your mission to ensure accountability:

Provide regular updates to my office on the status of all federal drinking water statute enforcement actions taken by your office.
Hold routine community meetings in Doña Ana County to update residents on the status of NMED investigation and provide an opportunity for residents to share their concerns and experiences.
Conduct random, unannounced water quality testing for no less than one calendar year or until arsenic levels are routinely below the EPA’s MCL, consistent with federal law, to provide residents the peace of mind that their water is safe to drink.
While CRRUA has received more than $13.6 million in state loans and grants for water and wastewater projects since 2012, I ask that NMED continue to make state and federal clean water project funding available to ensure that CRRUA’s systems are functional and safe for the benefit of residents.

Clean drinking water should be a right, not a privilege, which is why I am committed to working with you to ensure that all tools available to you under federal law are being used to correct the injustice that residents of Doña Ana County have been facing. Thank you for your attention to this serious issue and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Gabe Vasquez

Member of Congress