Santa Fe Pondering New Effluent Plan

Santa Fe residents are about to get a chance to offer their thoughts on how the city should use its treated wastewater.

On Thursday, city water staff are hosting a meeting at the Southside Library to solicit input on 22 options ranging from irrigation of public spaces to return flow credits for the municipal water system.

“I think the public has a vested interest in many things, including their water resources. We want to hear from them. I personally also think the public has good ideas and I want to make sure I capture them,” city Water Resources Coordinator Borchert said.

Essentially, Santa Fe’s treated effluent management plan is out-of-date. Created more than a dozen years ago, it’s based on the assumption that the city is working with about 12,000 acre-feet of effluent a year. In reality, Santa Fe has been generating between 5,400 and 5,800 acre-feet over the past few years.

That’s not a bad thing – having less effluent “is largely because of conservation efforts,” Borchert said.

But, “it was time to re-evaluate the priorities identified in that plan and see if they still make sense with out current understanding of having half as much treated effluent,” she said.

Possible effluent uses include:

•Irrigation for public spaces, including the Municipal Recreation Complex, certain playing fields at Santa Fe Downs, parks and the Santa Fe River upstream of 599.

•Irrigation for public golf courses.

•Recharging groundwater to mitigate surface water impact from the city’s well fields.

•Future water supply considerations, including return flow credits, re-use of highly treated effluent and aquifer storage.

•Selling to private entities, including the Las Campanas subdivision, which helps keep wastewater rates down for regular city customers.

The meeting will be at the Southside Library, located at 6599 Jaguar Drive, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Information will also soon be available on the city’s website at www.santafenm.gov.