By Mary Alice Murphy

The Grant County Water Commission met in Santa Clara on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016, to hear about a report on the Regional Water Distribution Project that will be presented to the Interstate Stream Commission in November.

Alex Brown, Silver City town manager who serves as the chairman of the water commission, said he would report to the ISC at its November meeting the status of the project for which the ISC allocated $2.1 million from the Arizona Water Settlements Act funding in the New Mexico Unit Fund.

"We need to report the status by the end of December, so I got on the schedule for the November meeting," Brown said. "When I talked to Helen Sobien (ISC engineer), she wanted to know who would be the fiscal agent."

Brown explained that Silver City has already entered into a lease for some water rights to Hurley at no cost. Hurley will bear the costs for operations and maintenance to get the water from the Silver City-owned wellfield near the Grant County Airport to Hurley.

"When phases 2 and 3 get going, we would enter into a lease with Bayard and Santa Clara to use up to a certain amount of water," Brown said. "Then you would each enter into a joint-powers agreement with Hurley to pay your share of the operations and maintenance costs for the amount of water you use."

Bayard Mayor Charles Kelly, as water commission member, clarified: "We would only pay if we use water, right?"

"Yes," Brown said. "You will pay only for the months and weeks you use water and you pay a proportionate amount for operations."

Santa Clara Mayor Richard Bauch proposed Hurley be the fiscal agent for the water commission and the project.

Brown noted that Bayard or Santa Clara might have extra costs for the booster pumping.

"Hurley would set the base rate," Bauch clarified. "If we have to run water to us through the Bayard pumps, and Bayard was not using the water, we would pay for the pumping."

Brown asked if the two mayors were OK with what he is going to say.

Kelly said he had no problem with it, but asked: "What about the system's operations and maintenance?"

Brown said Hurley would pay because the town is the main beneficiary of the project. "The only cost in this case is the well and distribution system."

Kelly said: "When we're all connected, Hurley will want us to use water so it cuts their fixed costs."

"Hurley, if it chooses to be the fiscal agent, will be responsible for the line and pumps all the way to Silver City," Brown said.

Bauch asked if Hurley would bill Santa Clara and Bayard monthly for maintenance, and Brown said it would be a small cost.

"So we pay a maintenance fee whether we use water or not," Kelly said, to which Brown replied yes.

"Unless we maintain our own section of line," Bauch said. "If Hurley takes care of the entire system, if Santa Clara turns on the water, will the electric bill come to us?"

Gary Berg of Occam Engineers Inc. said Hurley would likely get the electric bill for the booster station at the wellfield and another booster station at the Hurley tanks probably won't run unless Bayard or Santa Clara needs the water.

Kelly asked if the towns would get separate electric bills or would the cost be put into the maintenance fee.

Bauch said it makes sense that "we pay part of the maintenance and then the electric bill should come to us. We would calculate our own usage."

Brown said there would be a meter to measure whatever Santa Clara or Bayard pulls off. "You would pay the regular maintenance fee to Hurley. If only Bayard, for instance, uses water, Bayard will be charged per 1,000 gallons and the electricity from the booster pump plus the maintenance fee."

Berg estimated the cost of the water to Hurley would be about $1.50 per 1,000 gallons.

Bauch wondered about flushing lines. Berg said they could be programmed to run for one hour at certain time intervals.

Brown said it would be better for Bayard and Santa Clara to run it for an hour or so each month and sell the water. "You would pay the line maintenance fee and the electrical fee plus $1.50 per 1,000 gallons for using it. It would never enter the Hurley system."

Berg said the distribution would be controlled by a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system for remote monitoring and control.

Brown said he would talk, in his presentation, about the preliminary model on how it will be operated.

Berg said the drilling of the west test well that morning had been stopped at 1,500 feet and had not hit bedrock. The driller has cased it and is finishing the gravel pack and was intending to construct the collar and flush the well the next day.

"Next week, a hydrologist will do the testing and get samples for lab analysis," Berg continued. "I hope by the middle of November, we have the hydrologist's report sent to the Drinking Water Bureau for analysis. Everything else is done, except for the well design and specs for the well and dsitribution. We should get some consistent bids. We have $3.9 million to work with, so that should bring good interest from contractors. We have to figure out exactly what to bid. We might have to build both ends first and build the middle later."

He said he thinks the landowners would not have great demands, other than a couple of taps for cattle and a T and a valve in a vault at the airport. "We are planning to use 12-inch pipe. I will send Helen a note about where we're at."

Brown said Priscilla Lucero, Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments executive director, had asked him to present at an infrastructure conference. "I presented the project to FundIt, a group of agencies that work together to figure out how to fund projects."

The date for the next water commission meeting is tentatively set for 3 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 1, in Silver City at the Grant County Administration Center.