December 2024 Manager's report

Happy Holidays to everyone. Personally, I enjoy the holidays a lot more now than when I worked for UPS. We’ve had a lot going on for the past month. Most notable is the location and repair of several leaks. On Wednesday December 11 we received a call about a possible leak at Raven Rd and Jupiter Ct. After investigation it was determined this was worth digging up. This leak was tricky to locate. Water Service was restored Friday December 13 with the dirt work completed Saturday December 14. On Monday December 16, we began an excavation at 82 Raven Rd. We did not find anything indicating a leak and quickly abandoned the work, moving to 43 Big Dipper. This has been an area of interest for some time. There is a natural spring here and we have been fooled before. This time we tested for chlorine. Mother nature’s water will not have chlorine in it. The water tested positive for chlorine and excavation began. This turned into a muddy mess, with the natural spring and all the water up Big Dipper draining into our hole. The leak was found and repaired. We will continue to watch this area.

The Board contacted the New Mexico Environmental Department (NMED) after learning they were rolling out new software that uses satellite imagery and artificial intelligence to locate leaks. This is a new program for the agency, and we are one of the first systems to work with the program. On November 22 we had a seven-member team of NMED officials in our little office looking at maps and comparing data. We did on-site investigations of the findings. Unfortunately, upon further investigation we found no leaks. The Board will continue to work with the NMED team.

On December 12 the Board submitted the pre-application form to receive funding for a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER), an Asset Management Plan (AMP) and infrastructure repairs. To make the next round of funding we have until January 30 to complete the application. We are working hard to complete this. We now have an NMED case manager assigned to us. He will be a wealth of knowledge and guidance going forward.

Several Months ago, Guy Herner announced he will be stepping down from the Board on December 31, 2024. We thank Guy for his service to the community. A temporary replacement will be appointed and approved by the Board until the next annual meeting when a vote for a new Board member will be held.

We are still listed in the Moderate Drought conditions by the Weather Service. I would like everyone to pray, chant, meditate, sing, dance or whatever you can do to bring us some much-needed snow!

Thank You,

Carl Walker