Portales: Cost of Water Project Could Cause Cities To Drop Out
Associated Press
PORTALES — Three cities and a county have dropped out of a proposed project to bring water to the Clovis-Portales area, and now a Portales official has suggested the other governments meet to make sure the project can continue.
D.K. Shafer of Portales' finance committee is recommending that city officials meet with representatives of the remaining eight governments to see if they want to continue the $300 million project to pipe water from Ute Lake, near Logan.
Tucumcari, San Jon, Logan and Quay County already have withdrawn. In addition, the project's annual service contract has more than tripled to $443,472 in the last year, said Portales officials who met Monday to discuss the project.
Portales would have to pay $92,657 and Clovis $331,736 for the management services.
Mayor Orlando Ortega said he's concerned the project's cost will continue to go up if it's postponed or delayed.
"We feel very strong about our plan,'' Ortega said. "I believe the remaining entities feel the same.''
He said he hopes to have a decision on federal funding for the proposal later this year or next year.
The mayor previously has said Portales cannot go through with the Ute water project without federal money.
The current proposal calls for the federal government to pay for 80 percent of the project with the state and Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority.
The proposed pipeline would run for about 150 miles from Ute Lake through Quay, Curry and Roosevelt counties, ending at Elida.
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