Ute Pipeline Project getting $15 million

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is awarding $15 million in federal funding for a water pipeline in eastern New Mexico, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich announced Thursday.

The fiscal 2020 funding for the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Supply Project represents an increase of $11.7 million in previous years.

“Tripling the federal investment in the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System is a major victory,” Heinrich said in a news release. “I have worked for more than a decade to increase federal funding for this major infrastructure project, also known as the Ute Pipeline Project, which is important to providing cities in eastern New Mexico and Cannon Air Force Base with affordable, clean water.”

The funding for the project, headed by the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority, will be used to continue the construction of a water pipeline from Cannon Air Force Base to Portales. The project was federally authorized in 2009, to provide potable water to seven communities and Cannon for municipal, commercial and industrial use from a renewable surface water supply at Ute Reservoir. The member communities include Clovis, Curry County, Elida, Grady, Melrose, Portales and Texico. The project will replace current groundwater supplies from the Ogallala Aquifer with renewable sources from Ute Reservoir. The Fourth National Climate Assessment warns that producers are extracting water faster than it can be replenished and the aquifer should be considered non-renewable, Heinrich’s office said.

“We have known for a long time that pumping unlimited groundwater from the Ogallala Aquifer is unsustainable,” the senator said.

The mayors of Clovis and Portales, who are both members of the water authority, praised the increase in funding.

“These dollars will be put to beneficial use immediately,” Clovis Mayor David Lansford said in the release. He is chairman of the water authority. “We are also very grateful to the many individuals who have recognized the need and advocated for the accelerated completion of the (water project).”

“This water infrastructure project represents a shared vision that the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority has had for years to deliver affordable, clean water to our communities,” said Ron Jackson, Portales mayor and water authority vice chairman. “I am incredibly excited to see this monumental increase in funding that will truly move this project forward.”