September 28 – TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES – You don’t have to look far to find water leaks in this southern New Mexico city.
A three-man team works almost every day to repair cracks in aging water pipes from the 1960s, and city officials maintain a “leak list” of ongoing and completed projects.
The water from the leaks flows over the roads, ends up in backyards and causes potholes that bother local residents.
“Our lines are old and they’re popping up everywhere,” Arnie Castañeda, Truth or Consequence’s water and wastewater director, said recently after ducking into his small office.
“People don’t realize that we didn’t create the problem,” said Castañeda, adding that a number of his former employees have left after facing criticism and complaints in public institutions.
Although new water lines have recently been installed in the city’s historic center and more than 200 leaks have been fixed in the past one-year period, there were still 57 active leaks as of earlier this month.
And a recent legislative report calculated that the city loses about 25% of its water — or about 39 million gallons — to leaking pipes.
“There comes a time with these water lines when you just have to replace the whole damn thing,” said City Manager Angie Gonzales, who took on the job last year and regularly receives calls from residents alerting her to new leaks.
“We have so many leaks that I could keep a few contractors busy full-time,” she added.
The water problems can be particularly pressing in Truth or Consequences, which is located on a geothermal hotspot with warm water just a few meters underground. But they are hardly unique to New Mexico.
Last month’s Legislative Finance Committee report identified $5.7 billion in future water and wastewater infrastructure repair needs across the state.
The report also finds that one of the state’s primary means of financing such projects, the annual capital spending package passed by lawmakers, often leads to high unused balances and construction delays.
That’s because financing is often approved piecemeal, rather than entire projects being funded up front.
Local water systems in New Mexico should generally be financially self-sufficient, the report found, but cities and towns often set artificially low rates because of the expectation of state funding.
In total, New Mexico has 1,055 public water systems, about 80% of which serve fewer than 500 people. Just over half of the state’s drinking water comes from wells, while the rest comes from surface water sources such as rivers, reservoirs and arroyos.
A ‘Frankensteined’ approach to repairs
Santa Fe’s Wastewater Treatment Plant opened in 1962 and its equipment averages about three-quarters of its lifespan, said John Dupuis, director of the city’s Public Utilities Department.
Attempts over the years to fix problems, including burst pipes, have resulted in a “Frankensteined” facility in which the various components do not always function efficiently as a system.
“We are discovering more and more layers of unusable equipment,” Dupuis told the Journal.
The city is still evaluating whether to replace the wastewater facility or repair the old one, but two nearby areas have been investigated as possible locations for a new facility.
However, building a new facility won’t be cheap.
The legislative report estimated the cost of building a new wastewater treatment plant in Santa Fe at about $120 million.
While the city could get a loan through a state revolving fund to pay for most of the construction costs, that money would have to be paid back, likely through a sharp increase in consumer sewer rates.
If the city had raised its rates earlier to plan such a replacement project, such a large loan and an increase in consumer rates would not be necessary, the legislative report said.
Dupuis said he and other city water officials try to be transparent about the problems they face, but acknowledged that some city residents may be reluctant to foot the bill for a new wastewater treatment plant.
“The public is getting tired of even hearing legitimate excuses when you have a history of compliance issues,” Dupuis said.
These compliance issues include a $2.3 million fine imposed this year by the state Department of Environment for discharging treated water into the Santa Fe River with high concentrations of E. coli bacteria and nitrogen.
Dupuis said the challenges of complying with ever-evolving regulations and finding licensed operators to operate wastewater treatment plants are daunting, even when adequate funding is in place.
“If you don’t update, you’ll be out of compliance soon enough,” he said.
A history of water emergencies
Some New Mexico cities have already experienced severe water shortages.
The village of Chama was without water for several weeks in 2022 due to a leak at the local water factory, and nearby Questa had to close schools in 2016 after its well went dry.
In Truth or Consequences, the city has raised water rates to cover borrowing costs and has received more than $65 million in state and federal funds over the past five years to pay for water and wastewater projects.
But city officials expect the total cost of a complete overhaul of the water system to be nearly double that.
During a recent legislative committee hearing in Socorro, Gonzales showed lawmakers portions of old rusty water pipes that had been removed during recent pipe replacement work.
She emphasized that the city’s water is clean to drink, but said some streets in Truth or Consequences appear to be “cursed” by water leaks.
In an interview at her Truth or Consequences office downtown, Gonzales said upgrades and repairs to the city’s water system were largely postponed for years until they became an emergency.
But she doesn’t blame her predecessors. She says maintaining the water system can be difficult when everything is working properly because the work is generally not visible and “not sexy.”
However, water issues are clearly on the minds of lawmakers.
During the recent hearing, Sen. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, said water leaks in Truth or Consequences sometimes cause local streets to flood.
She also expressed concern about the potential impact on the New Mexico Veterans’ Home, which was recently renovated.
Kathleen Cates, a Democrat from Rio Rancho, said water leaks and other water system problems are especially frustrating in a state facing chronic drought and wildfires.
“It affects the entire state because water is the most important thing in our state,” Cates said.
But while lawmakers last year passed legislation allowing neighboring community water systems to work together, some rural water experts say more work needs to be done.
That could include a funding package or changes to the capital spending system, which currently gives each lawmaker a certain amount of money to dole out for projects in their district.
However, previous proposals to overhaul the capital spending process by creating a system where projects are independently evaluated have struggled to gain traction in the Roundhouse, with many lawmakers reluctant to give up their spending discretion.
