Meetings watch: Water policy advisory board

In addition to recommending a tax increase to help fund a water pipeline, members of Clovis’ water policy advisory board discussed water contamination from Cannon Air Force Base.

Mayor David Lansford reported on the recent Washington, D.C., trip he and other local representatives made, most notably a meeting with Assistant Secretary of the Air Force John Henderson.

Lansford said he asked Henderson pointed questions on where Cannon Air Force Base stood among the 189 military installations dealing with PFAS/PFOA contamination from firefighting foam.

“I felt like from his answer,” Lansford said, “we were definitely near the top.”

Lansford said the situation isn’t as much an issue at some installations, because the contamination plumes have stayed within the boundaries of the installations and haven’t interfered with water or food supply. That’s not the case with Cannon’s plume, which has led to a lawsuit from local dairy owner Art Schaap.

“I’m confident they’re moving as fast as they can,” Lansford said in regard to Department of Defense cleanup efforts, “but I’m not the property owner being affected.”

In other business:

• Orlando Ortega, executive director of the authority, is hopeful the Finished Water 2 project will be completed Dec. 26 despite some delays with the heavy rains the first week of October.

He’s hopeful to go out to bid in January on Finished Water 3, which would take the pipeline from just northwest of Cannon to Portales, going 16.8 miles with 20-inch PVC pipe.

Madrid said he’d received questions on what would happen to Sandoval Street, which was torn up during construction. Ortega said the plan was to resurface the area with asphalt.

• Clovis City Manager Justin Howalt said Phase 1C of the effluent water project was finished, and he hoped to have contracts in place in 60 to 90 days for Phase 1D to take the pipeline to Bob Spencer Park and install a 1 million gallon storage tank.

“The primary contract would likely focus on the storage tank,” Howalt said, “and subcontract all the other work.”

The pipeline reduces water demand by treating wastewater to a level below drinking standards, but suitable for watering fields and other municipal uses, and using that supply instead of water from city wells.

• The next meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Nov. 12.

— Compiled by Editor Kevin Wilson