Feeling the water pressure: New Mexico's approach to aging water systems can lead to leaks, shortages

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES — You don’t have to go far to find water leaks in this southern New Mexico city.

A three-man crew works almost every day repairing cracks in aging water pipes from the 1960s, and city officials keep a “leak list” of pending and completed projects.

Water from the leaks runs down roads, spills into backyards and causes potholes that irk local residents.

“Our lines are old, and they’re popping everywhere,” Truth or Consequence’s Water and Wastewater Director Arnie Castañeda said on a recent afternoon after ducking into his small office.

“People don’t realize we didn’t create the problem,” said Castañeda, who added some previous employees of his have left after being on the butt-end of criticism and complaints in public settings.

While new water lines were recently installed in the city’s historic downtown area and more than 200 leaks were fixed in a recent year-long period, there were still 57 active leaks as of this earlier this month.

And a recent legislative report calculated the city loses about 25% of its water — or about 39 million gallons — to pipe leaks.

“There comes a time with these water lines that you just have to replace the whole damn thing,” said City Manager Angie Gonzales, who took the job last year and gets frequent phone calls from residents alerting her about new leaks.

“We’ve got so many leaks, I could keep a few contractors busy full-time,” she added.

The water issues may be particularly urgent in Truth or Consequences, which sits on a geothermal hot spot featuring warm water just a few feet underground. But they’re hardly unique in 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 found one of the state’s primary ways of funding such projects, the annual capital outlay package passed by lawmakers, often leads to high unspent balances and construction delays.

That’s because the funding is frequently approved in a piecemeal fashion, rather than funding entire projects up front.

Local water systems in New Mexico should generally be financially self-sustainable, the report found, but cities and towns often set artificially low rates due to the expectation of state funding.

In all, New Mexico has 1,055 public water systems, with about 80% of those water systems serving less than 500 people. Slightly more than half of the state’s drinking water comes from wells, with the rest coming from surface water sources like rivers, reservoirs and arroyos.

A ‘Frankensteined’ approach to repairs

Santa Fe’s wastewater treatment facility opened in 1962 and its equipment is, on average, at about three-quarters through its lifespan, said John Dupuis, the city’s public utilities department director.

Attempts over the years to fix problems, including burst pipes, have led to a “Frankensteined” facility in which the different components don’t always function efficiently as a system.

“We are uncovering further and further layers of inoperable equipment,” Dupuis told the Journal.

The city is still evaluating whether to replace the wastewater facility or keep repairing its old one, but two nearby areas have been examined as possible sites for a new facility.

Building a new facility won’t be cheap, however.

The legislative report pegged the cost of building a new wastewater treatment facility in Santa Fe at roughly $120 million.

While the city could obtain a loan under a state revolving fund to pay for most of the construction costs, that money would have to be paid back, likely via a sharp increase in consumer sewer rates.

If the city had previously raised its rates to plan for such a replacement project, such a large loan and hike in consumer rates would not be necessary, the legislative report found.

Dupuis said he and other city water officials are trying to be transparent about the issues they’re facing, but acknowledged some city residents might be wary about footing the bill for a new wastewater treatment facility.

“The public gets tired of hearing even legitimate excuses when you have a history of compliance issues,” Dupuis said.

Those compliance issues include a $2.3 million fine levied by the state Environment Department this year for discharging treated water into the Santa Fe River with high levels of E. coli bacteria and nitrogen.

Dupuis said the challenges of complying with ever-evolving regulations and finding licensed operators to run wastewater treatment facilities are daunting, even with enough funding 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 towns have already had experiences with severe water shortages.

The village of Chama went without water for several weeks in 2022 due to a leak at the local water plant, and nearby Questa had to cancel schools in 2016 after its well ran dry.

In Truth or Consequences, the city has raised water fees to cover loan costs and has received more than $65 million in state and federal funds to pay for water and wastewater projects over the last five years.

But city officials expect the total cost for a complete water line system overhaul to be nearly double that amount.

At a recent legislative committee hearing in Socorro, Gonzales showed lawmakers sections of old rusty water pipes removed during recent line replacement work.

She insisted the city’s water is clean for drinking, but said some streets in Truth or Consequences seem to be “cursed” by water leaks.

In an interview in her downtown Truth or Consequences office, Gonzales said upgrades and repairs to the town’s water line system were largely put off for years until they became an emergency.

But she doesn’t blame her predecessors, saying water system upkeep can be a hard sell when things are working properly, since the work is generally not visible and “not sexy.”

Water issues are clearly on lawmakers’ minds, however.

During the recent hearing, Sen. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, said the water leaks in Truth or Consequences at times cause local streets to flood.

She also expressed concern over the potential impact on the New Mexico Veterans’ Home, which was recently remodeled.

Rep. Kathleen Cates, a Rio Rancho Democrat, said water leaks and other water system issues 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 collaborate, some rural water experts say more work must be done.

That could include a funding package or changes to the capital outlay system, which currently provides each lawmaker with a certain amount of money to dole out for projects in their district.

Previous proposals to overhaul the capital outlay process by creating a system in which projects are independently evaluated have struggled to gain traction at the Roundhouse, however, with many lawmakers reluctant to relinquish their spending discretion.