Portales encouraged to continue conservation efforts

The Portales City Council heard another water update on Tuesday, however they were again encouraged to remain in stage three water restrictions.

“I still feel like we need to continue our conservation efforts,” Chris Mendoza, public utility superintendent said.

He said to the council at their regular meeting that the city should not have the restrictions lifted.

The city entered in a stage three emergency on June 28, 2023.

Mendoza said the city is currently waiting on the approval of phase three of the geophysical surveying project from their water engineers.

Geophysical surveying is a way to map out what it looks like underground and identify paleo channels. Paleo channels are the most promising for water production, according to Daniel B. Stephens & Associates (DBS&A), the city’s water engineers.

DBS&A provided an update in February on the preliminary engineering report. It showed an outlook of phases for projects and needs for the city for the next 15 years or more. It is also required by the state and gives the city the ability to apply for funding, according to Sarah Austin, the city manager.

Mendoza was thanked by the members of council for showing them around the well field earlier this month.

“It opened up a few trains of thought in my brain,” Councilor Eldon Merrick said. “Hopefully we can come to a good solution.”

It is still unknown as to when the stage three restrictions will be lifted. As more information is gathered from the survey and other sources, city officials believe they’ll have more of a timeline.