Officials: Water conservation working

Clovis residents have been conservative with their water use since mid-June, when city officials set voluntary guidelines for “non-essential use.”

Kathy Wright, vice president and manager of New Mexico American Water, said residents being frugal with their water and a recent surge of timely rainfall are keeping area water wells in good standing — pumping about 2 million gallons a day below capacity.

Wright said there has been no date set to discontinue voluntary water restrictions — which calls for no yard watering between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., and a watering schedule for odd and even addresses — but can’t foresee it happening before the end of August.

“We haven’t even discussed a stop date, we may run it through September,” Wright said.

City Commissioner Randy Crowder, chairman of the Water Policy Advisory Committee, said he will ask the committee at this morning’s meeting to consider lifting the voluntary conservation measures on Sept. 10.

On June 16, city officials asked Clovis residents to follow a variety of conservation methods because New Mexico American Water wells were pumping about 10 million gallons a day, or at “full capacity.”

This is the second summer city and water officials have asked residents to conserve water, but it probably won’t be the last.

Wright said there’s a good chance voluntary conservation measures will occur every summer.

“We’ve discussed it with the city where we might just have a date in mind and say ‘OK we’re going to this program the first of May, the first of June, whatever,’” she said.

Clovis City Manager Ray Mondragon said he supports that measure.

“I think it’s important that we support New Mexico American Water Company on that. I foresee it happening indefinitely,” Mondragon said.

Crowder added: “I think it is a very wise move for the city of Clovis. It is shown to work and it is shown to be affective.”

In the long term, Wright said within the next year New Mexico American Water officials plan on doing some test drilling in the lower aquifer, which rests about 1,000 feet below the Ogallala Aquifer.

She said studies show the water is very salty, but said there are methods to treat and distill the water.