Sunland Park sets course to absorb water utility

A vote by the Sunland Park City Council last week set the city on course to absorb the nonprofit water utility serving an estimated 19,466 individuals and industrial areas in Sunland Park and Santa Teresa.

At its June 4 meeting, the council unanimously established a new city utility department, after Doña Ana County voted last month to dissolve its compact with the city creating the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) in 2009.

In a news release following the city council meeting, CRRUA confirmed plans to “transition into” the city department once the process of dissolving the joint powers agreement is complete, a process that could take up to four years, though the county has indicated it foresees a quicker exit.

The transition period requires the city and county to negotiate their respective infrastructures and assets and develop plans for delivering uninterrupted service to customers, both in and out of Sunland Park city limits.

“As a city department, CRRUA will have access to more city resources, immediate staffing support, and grant funding assistance for capital infrastructure investments — all of which will help enhance operations to better serve our customers,” Mario Juarez-Infante, Sunland Park’s city manager, said in a written statement. Juarez-Infante is also the vice-chair of CRRUA’s governing board.

Sunland Park Mayor Javier Perea, who chairs the CRRUA board, also won city council approval for investing $1.2 million into removing sediment from CRRUA’s Anapra, Meadow Vista and Tierra Madre water tanks and rehabilitating them to address frequent episodes of discolored water.

“The sediment is primarily composed of the naturally occurring minerals iron and manganese,” CRRUA Executive Director Juan Crosby said. “When the sediment is disturbed by water flow, it can enter the distribution system causing discoloration.”

Community organizations and residents purchasing residential water from CRRUA have complained of repeated instances of yellow or murky water. The utility has also weathered more serious issues attributed to aging infrastructure and facilities.

In May, the state Environment Department filed a lawsuit seeking to place CRRUA under third-party management for the remainder of the joint powers agreement in addition to punitive and compensatory damages following a raft of safety violations over its 16-year existence.

The civil complaint describes CRRUA as “functionally incapable of meeting the most basic responsibilities of a public water and wastewater provider.”

As of May, the utility was still resolving 58 issues outlined in the state’s 2023 Sanitary Survey Inspection.

In February, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a two-day inspection that identified 64 “areas of concern,” ranging from leaks and corrosion to inoperable pumps and backup generators to damaged facilities and security and workplace safety issues. The utility did not respond to queries from the Journal about its progress in addressing those items.

Since the county announced its intent to dissolve the agreement, Perea and Juarez-Infante have described the parting as an opportunity for the city to take full control of its water service.

After the city council approved cleaning the water tanks, Perea said the city would “identify other critical water and wastewater infrastructure priorities resulting from deferred maintenance, along with funding opportunities, development agreements, and revenue streams that will address capacity improvements and expansion.”

Community members, working with Empowerment Congress NM and the New Mexico Environmental Law Center, called for CRRUA and the city to work closely with residents to refurbish its systems and repair trust.

For years our community members have voiced concerns, and this EPA inspection validates how serious the threats to our water quality are,” Santa Teresa resident Vivan Fuller said. “We believe a collaborative effort involving community input is essential to ensure a sustainable future for our water resources.”