Portales Council considers water study

Portales’ water system could use installation of modern automatic water meters.

That was the top recommendation from an Albuquerque engineering firm on a study of the city’s water system presented to Portales City Council on Tuesday.

The city’s mayor and city councilors were present as Graham Chapman and Ezra Crumley from Wilson & Company of Albuquerque presented the study.

“They are talking about AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) water meters,” Portales City Manager Chris Moyer told The News.

“One of the benefits is being able to remotely read water meters. (They) are newer meters, which also come with better technology to have better leak detection, water management, and energy savings.”

Moyer said city officials are meeting in a public workshop at 4 p.m. Monday to talk more about new meters.

“I don’t have an exact estimate, but to change out all water meters in Portales, including the wellfields and storage tanks, it would probably be close to $3 million,” he said.

Chapman reported in 2023 the system used 801 million gallons of water.

Crumley reported water pressure is good throughout the Portales system, the lowest pressure being at a hydrant south of the city at the airport.

Crumley noted other priorities needed for the system:

• Replace a 24-inch “trunk main” due to improper installation and its close proximity to the railroad.

Estimated cost for replacement is about $5 million.

• An additional 3-million-gallon storage tank to take stress off the system’s pumps. Estimated price for the storage tank is $8 million.

• Replacement of standard dimensional ratio PVC pipe in a portion of the system as it is not up to state code. Cost of replacement would be about $1.5 million.

Chapman said the top priority should be the change to automatic meters.

Chapman noted the biggest way to save Ogallala Aquifer water is to expand the city’s water re-use program.

In other business, the City Council heard from Paul Kippert from the New Mexico Self Insurers Fund regarding the possibility of turning the Portales water system over to a private company as is done in Clovis.

After pointing out statutes regarding the topic, Kippert recommended hiring a consultant on the matter.

Later in the meeting, City Manager Chris Moyer said he would look into finding a consultant.

Service awards were handed out to two employees at the session: A five-year award to Billy Bustamante and a 20-year award to Tawna Luscombe.

As the meeting wrapped up, Councilor Oscar Robinson said council service projects involving the Portales community and Eastern New Mexico University students are planned for Jan. 20, the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday.

ENMU Associate Vice President of Public Relations and Advancement John Houser on Wednesday detailed what Robinson brought up, that Jan. 20 “will be a day of service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

“Together, we’ll give back to the Portales community and make a meaningful impact. We will be doing community service projects that day while working with the city of Portales,” Houser said.

He added the event invites ENMU students to celebrate King’s legacy through acts of service.