Water supply plan presented

CLOVIS — A plan aiming to extend the water supply for Clovis and surrounding communities another half-century saw its first complete public presentation at Tuesday's Water Policy Advisory Committee Meeting.

The "City of Clovis Master Water Assurance Plan" recommends a combination of effluent water reuse, conservation and a slight change to some agricultural practices, primarily as an intermediate solution while the Ute pipeline project is completed.

The plan represents "a complex response to what appears to be an insurmountable challenge," said Clovis City Commissioner Ladona Clayton, chairperson of the nine-person task force commissioned by the WPAC in January. "I think we can rise to (that challenge), and I think we can do so in a way to be a model to other municipalities."

Based on calculations of past trends and current rates of water usage, officials of the state Bureau of Geology estimated Tuesday that the region has anywhere from five to a few tens of years before the Ogallala Aquifer's lifespan is effectively ended.

That is, if nothing changes.

At current rates of decline, "some areas have less than 10 years and some areas are already out of time," said Aquifer Mapping Program Manager Stacy Timmons.

Senior Field Geologist Geoffrey Rawling told the committee those forecasts are based on the assumption of area agricultural trends continuing as they have in past decades. He estimated 93 percent of all groundwater used in Curry and Roosevelt counties was put toward irrigated agriculture.

The city currently requires about 5,600 acre-feet of water per year, said Clayton, while completion of a water reuse system should reduce the need for new ground water by over one-third, about 1,750 acre feet annually.

The projected cost of completing the effluent reuse system is about $11 million, nearly all of which Clayton says could be financed by selling just over 1,000 of the annual acre feet of water currently being discharged by the city's wastewater treatment plant.

The remaining 3,850 acre feet needed each year will be supplied by pumping from a paleochannel northwest of the city.

The paleochannel is "an area containing multiple playa lakes with the potential to recharge the aquifer," said the task force presentation. It was identified as a potential water source in a document prepared by Cannon Air Force Base known as the Trinity Report, which Clayton said is soon to be made public.

Utilizing water from the paleochannel would require the construction of a $15 million pipeline connecting the area to the Ute pipeline, as well as persuading farmers to turn off 70 water-producing wells in the paleochannel area.

Over the course of 40 years, "the biggest cost is going to be the water rights issue, because to lease those could cost us between $20 million to $40 million," Clayton told The News Tuesday.

"These measures aid in reserving future water resources while allowing landowners to maintain and preserve their water rights," said the task force presentation.

Current levels of agricultural pumping from the paleochannel give it 10 more years of viability. Reducing that rate from 80 to 20 percent capacity could extend that water supply to 40 years.

Combine that with reuse water, existing EPCOR and city wells and a couple of conservation tactics — Playa Lake restoration from federal grant dollars, and tax credits to incentive landowners to "take land and water out of irrigated farming practices" — and the water supply could extend a total of 60 years from now.

With any luck that will be enough time to complete the Ute Reservoir Water Project connecting the Ute Reservoir with the seven member communities in the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority.

A 2014 Assessment of Rural Water Projects by the Bureau of Reclamation estimated the project might not be completed until after 2065 given current federal funding levels, said the presentation.

The last action plan item recommended by the task force was to continue to lobby for funding to finish the URWP.

During public feedback on the presentation, Portales Major and ENMWUA Vice Chairwoman Sharon King said she was offended the task force did not include a water authority member, citing the task force plan's close connection to surrounding communities and the URWP.

She also requested a legal interpretation of the text of New Mexico House Bill 15, which the task force referenced when recommending the use of federal dollars in executing its water plan.

King expressed doubt on the legality and propriety of using federal funds for the Ute Pipeline toward securing water rights from farmers on the paleochannel.

"If we spend that much Ute money to pay the farmers we'll never have a pipeline," she said.

Clovis Mayor and ENWUA Chairman David Lansford said he was, in turn, offended at the suggestion city leaders were not as invested in water supply for surrounding communities as they were in Clovis.

"The criticism is unwarranted and it's not going to continue as long as I'm chairman of the water utility authority," Lansford said, stating there was "no effort" by ENMWUA in the past to identify an interim water supply while the pipeline is being built.

"They never showed an interest in increasing the water supply," he said. "Infrastructure will take care of itself over time."

Lansford also said he was optimistic about the outlook for the area's water resources, so long as farmers are respectfully transitioned into changing some farming practices and city leaders continue with a comprehensive and logical response.

"I, for one, do not feel like the sky is falling," he said. "No one is ready to throw any industry or person or community aside."

Former Clovis Mayor Gayla Brumfield also spoke, echoing King's concerns as to how water rights will be financed. She acknowledged the need for an interim water supply but hoped it would not come at the cost of the important yet water-intensive industries of the region.

"I am all for the agricultural community being taken care of," she said. "They have provided an unbelievable economy for our area."

Senator Pat Woods (R), serving Curry, Quay and Union counties for District 7, spoke Tuesday and said local communities need to be prepared "to come together and fund some of this," noting recent struggles to maintain state and federal dollars. He also said local leaders should realize that changes to farming practices might drive industries from the area.

"Think about that when you start talking to (farmers) about giving up their water," he said. "Eventually it'll just be a matter of time before all the dairies leave the area."

The water plan remains open to public feedback and will be a long time before it comes to the city commission for consideration, said Clayton. Task force members hope to disseminate more information in publications, online and through town halls to be announced.