Water provider may offer rebates to encourage conservation

In a meeting Tuesday morning that touched numerous aspects of the city's current state of water, plenty of time was also paid by the Water Policy Advisory Committee to the years ahead.

In the first of what will be multiple discussions about the advisory committee's direction for the next five years, members agreed they need to look at continuing conservation efforts and ramping up education to those ends.

The committee spoke with Jake Lenderking, a Phoenix-based water resources manager for EPCOR. The company is the water provider for Clovis residents.

Lenderking spoke about the efforts to start rebates for low-water materials. The rebates were offered previously when the company was New Mexico American Water.

Rebates are starting again for low-flow toilets and washing machines, Lenderking said, and he has talked with local merchants so they could pass along word to customers on which appliances would qualify for such rebates.

Another rebate coming in, Lenderking said, is for non-residential turf. He said turfing small patches of grass, like a commons area or the infield grass of a baseball field, would qualify.

Touching back on something members said at the previous meeting, Committee Chairman Randy Crowder said there might not be many spots left to hit on conservation. He noted that even though Clovis' population has risen more than 15 percent over the last decade, the wastewater treatment plant is treating less water than it did a decade prior.

"There are certainly clear indicators of a very successful program," Crowder said.

Members asked Lenderking if he was considering giving materials to schools. He said yes.

Lenderking said he would either send materials EPCOR uses in Phoenix or bring them to the next meeting, if he can attend.

In other business at the meeting:

• Crowder said he spoke with Mayor David Lansford about the ability of the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority to buy water rights to use on an interim basis for the pipeline project.

Ideally, a pipeline would be built in Roosevelt or Curry County in the early stages of building the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System. The pipeline would eventually be joined to the Ute Reservoir in Quay County.

Crowder, after talking with Lansford, realized the city had never taken a position on selling water rights at Ned Houk Park and the Clovis Municipal Airport for that purpose. Crowder said the city would gain a revenue source without raising taxes, but Howalt did warn that selling water rights might affect some leases on those properties.

Committee members approved sending the city commission a recommendation to let the authority know of its interest in leasing water.

• City Engineer Justin Howalt said the city is waiting for the state to give the go-ahead to bid out the first phase of the effluent reuse project. The project would take wastewater, treat it to a lower quality than drinking water and pump it throughout the city for watering municipal properties.
• The committee approved moving changes to the city's drought management plan to the city commission. Brian Daly, the general manager of EPCOR in Clovis, cited difficulty in judging an emergency based solely on usage in the current plan.

If wells are down, Daly said, 85 percent capacity could be a challenge, and if wells are up 95 percent might not be a problem.

Changes would give a broader capacity range (85-95 percent for Stage 2, 95-98 percent for Stage 3, 98-100 percent for Stage 4) and a longer period to judge water usage and supply (between three and five days, as opposed to three days under the current plan).

"In some cases, it's good to have things black and white," City Manager Joe Thomas said. "But in some cases, you need that latitude to make gray areas."

• The next meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 14 at Clovis City Hall.