Year in review: Water authority took steps as independent body

Editor's note: This is one in a series of stories recapping news events in 2015. It will continue through Jan. 1.

The Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority brought former Clovis City Engineer Justin Howalt aboard to bring its total employee roster up to ... one.

A further transition to an independent body was one of the biggest events for ENMWUA in 2015, with construction continuing on the long-discussed potable water project.

The ENMWUA is responsible for the construction and eventual operation of the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System. Locally known as the Ute Water Project, the effort would pump reserved water from the Ute Reservoir in Quay County to entities in Curry and Roosevelt counties.

The authority was created in 2010 from the footprint of the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Authority, which operated as a joint powers agreement with the city of Clovis serving as fiscal agent.

Now, with Howalt in place, the authority has headquarters at the Eastern Plains Council of Governments office in Clovis.

“We’ve transferred all financials over to ourselves, as opposed to the city of Clovis,” Howalt said. “We’ve basically been setting up the agency from its own independent agency.”

Otherwise, Howalt said the top accomplishment for the authority is completion of the first phase of the intake structure, or pumping station near the reservoir. That phase, Howalt said, included getting a tunnel into the reservoir, a shaft into the ground and an intake screen installed.

The next project is what Howalt refers to as the interim pipeline. The project involves installation of piping that is eventually intended for connection to the reservoir but could see use beforehand moving water to residents with water rights purchased from local agriculture producers.

“I guess the biggest obstacle is funding and continuing to work with our federal delegation to receive funding,” Howalt said. “We hope with the passage of the new budget and the increased funding ... there’s $130 million going to the Bureau of Reclamation.”

The authority currently has around $4 million between a $3.2 million grant/loan agreement from the water trust board, in addition to another $750,000 grant. Also, Howalt said, there is another grant/loan for $1.5 million nearing closure. That money would go towards the interim pipeline, with Howalt noting a 10-year outlook for completion depending on funding.

“We’ve got 100 percent planned, and now we’re seeking construction dollars,” Howalt said. “The ones we do have available to us, we’ll start putting them to use.”

A wet 2015 didn’t hurt in terms of the reservoir. Authority members were excited with a June report the reservoir was at about 75 percent of authorized capacity due to May and June rains. So, in November, authority members were extremely happy to report the reservoir was at 96 percent capacity — 194,730 acre feet out of a possible 195,155. The total is equal to about 63.45 billion gallons.

The authority body includes three members from the city of Clovis (Gayla Brumfield, Mayor David Lansford and City Commissioner Chris Bryant), two from the city of Portales (Mayor Sharon King), one from Curry County (Wendell Bostwick) and one rotating member to represent the communities of Elida, Grady, Melrose and Texico.

Portales City Councilor Leo Lovett stepped down recently as the other representative for the Portales community.

Brumfield said it will be up to the Portales city council to choose a new Portales representative for the ENMWUA board, which she said she imagines will be done sometime next month.

In June, Lansford ended up being the deciding vote to put himself and Brumfield on the authority for two-year terms. The decision came after 30 minutes of debate in the commission meeting, followed by a 40-minute recess where Lansford met privately with Brumfield.

A similar back-and-forth took place in 2013, when the city commission couldn’t agree on whether the authority should include Mayor Pro Tem Juan Garza and Brumfield or Garza and Lansford. The stalemate was settled when Commission Chris Bryant offered his seat on the authority, though Lansford later declined the offer.