ELDORADO AREA WATER & SANITATION DISTRICT
2 North Chamisa Drive, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87508-9483
IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO OUR CUSTOMERS
May 1, 2023: Summer Watering Restrictions begin May 1, 2023 as part of the Water Restrictions & Alert Management Plan (WRAMP). This will be implemented yearly from May 1 through August 31, coinciding with the Water Conservation Surcharge. The Summer Watering Restrictions will help to ensure that wells can sustain the water supply required to meet customer demand, and water levels in the tanks can be maintained to the necessary levels. However, the General Manager or Board may initiate a Stage Alert at any time due to other factors. The April issue of Water Notes explains in more detail as does the website if you scroll to view 'District Updates.' Thank you.
ACTIVE PROJECTS
Updated June 23, 2022
The following projects are ‘active’ as of the last update of this webpage. They are budgeted, funded, and authorized and may be in progress or may be scheduled in the near future.
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Santa Fe County (SFC) Pipeline Extension
As presented in the District’s November 2017 Utility Master Plan Update, securing an additional long-term safe, reliable, and cost-effective water supply source is the highest priority issue facing the District. With this in mind, on January 28, 2021, the Board executed a Water Delivery and Wheeling
Agreement by and between Santa Fe County and the Eldorado Area Water and Sanitation District. In addition to ensuring reliable water supply to the Community of Cañoncito, it will provide a much-needed source of supplemental water supply to the Eldorado community. Terms of the Agreement define the obligations of both parties to design and construct infrastructure improvements, as required, to deliver surface water to Eldorado and the community of Cañoncito. Two infrastructure improvement projects are required to be designed and constructed by the District to meet its obligations under the Agreement. The first of these two projects, the Tank 4 to Tank 1 Transmission Line and Booster Pump Station, was completed in 2020. The second of the two projects required, as part of the Santa Fe/Eldorado joint water delivery project, is the Santa Fe County (SFC) Pipeline Extension project. As defined in a December 2020 Technical Design Memorandum prepared by Molzen Corbin, elements of the project include a booster pump station and chlorination system to be constructed at the District’s Well 2A/2B site. The construction includes approximately 11,500 feet of 10-inch water transmission pipeline within the Avenida De Compadres and Avenida Vista Grande utility easements from Well 2A/2B to Tank 4, and installation of disinfection byproduct removal equipment at Tank 4. The bid opening for construction of the SFC Pipeline Extension project was held on February 4, 2022. Only one bid was received from File Construction with a bid amount of $2,999,645.50. The Engineer’s estimate of cost for project construction is $2,957,000. Subsequent bid evaluation by Molzen Corbin confirmed that File Construction was fully responsive to all bid requirements. Recent projects completed by File Construction for the District are Pressure Zone Optimization (PZO) Phase 2, Well 19, and the Tank 4 to Tank 1 Booster Pump Station and Water Transmission Line. The Board approved award of the project at its February 17, 2022 meeting. Notice to Proceed with the project was issued in March 2022 with substantial completion of the project scheduled for the end of 2022, barring delays in material deliveries.
The District has been fortunate in securing multiple sources of funding for the project:
- $312,000 (design only) - 2019 Legislative Grant
- $500,000 - 2020 Legislative Grant
- $1,000,000 - 2020 Water Trust Board Grant/Loan (90%/10%)
- $1,900,000 - Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund (DWSRLF) loan which includes 25% loan forgiveness.
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Field Workshop Garage
The District has been in need of a building for operations maintenance activities and for storage of equipment and materials. Currently, heavy equipment is stored in the open, while parts and materials are stored in three (3) large, rented storage containers located at the District’s Tank 2 site at the intersection of US Highway 285 and Avenida Eldorado. Routine maintenance is conducted in one of
the storage units which has been converted for this purpose and/or on the back of maintenance trucks. The new Field Workshop/Garage is an approximately 3,300 square-foot multipurpose facility that will serve the following functions:
1. A garage for parking and storage of large equipment, including a tractor, mobile generator, hydro-excavator, and backhoe.
2. A workshop for the District’s contract operator to perform routine maintenance.
3. An enclosed materials storage area for parts and small equipment, as required to maintain the water system.
4. A covered outside storage area for pipes and other large materials and supplies required for maintenance and repair of the water system.
The facility will be constructed on the Tank 2 site, an approximately 2.9-acre easement granted to the District by the Eldorado Community Improvement Association (ECIA). Existing facilities at the site include two above-ground steel water storage tanks, a pump station, chlorine storage building and chlorination station. ECIA has reviewed and approved the project. Because of the property’s zoning, Santa Fe County required the District to go through an extensive Conditional Use permitting process, which included two public hearings and review and approval by County staff, its Technical Advisory
Committee (TAC), the County Planning Commission, and the Board of County Commissioners. There was no opposition to the project raised by the public or the various committees and Board that have reviewed it. The County permit was issued on November 9, 2021. The bid opening for construction of the Field Workshop Garage was held on February 23, 2022. Two bids were received with a low bid of $1,035,422.35. The Engineer’s estimate of cost for project construction was $1,250,000. The Board approved award of the project at its April 21, 2022, meeting. Construction is scheduled to begin in June. The project will be partially funded by a New Mexico Finance Authority (NMFA) Public Project Revolving Fund (PPRF) loan in the amount of $500,000. Remaining project costs will be funded by the District’s Capital Reserve fund.
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Verano and Conchas Loop Pipeline Replacement
The District's November 2017 Water Utility Master Plan Update identified the Verano and Conchas Loop Pipeline Replacement project as the District’s second highest priority pipeline replacement project. The Report concluded that substandard pipe in these areas present significant potential maintenance issues as they near the end of their expected useful service life. The area also
experiences a significant and ongoing number of service lateral breaks which should be replaced at the same time the distribution pipelines are replaced to accomplish two tasks while minimizing construction costs and impacts. The existing pipelines will be replaced with C900 PVC. The project went out to bid in April 2022 with the bid opening scheduled for May 5th. Start of construction is scheduled for July with substantial completion scheduled for December 2022. The project will be funded by a $500,000 Legislative grant and a $2,000,000 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRLF) loan.
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EAWSD Wastewater Planning Study The District is acutely aware of the scarcity of long-term reliable water supplies as required to meet the needs of both our community and the entire region. For this reason, the District supports current long-range water resource management planning efforts being led by the City and County of Santa Fe, which includes investigation of alternative solutions to address anticipated long-term acute shortages in reliable water supply for the region. One option that has been successfully implemented in communities across the country is collection and beneficial reuse of wastewater. Because the Eldorado community is currently served by individual septic systems, it is recognized that the cost to implement a community-wide collection and beneficial reuse system would be high. However, with reported potential capture and beneficial reuse of properly treated wastewater as high as 60% the net benefit to the community would be significant. To assess the viability of such a program, in September 2021 the Board approved a contract with HDR Engineering to prepare a Wastewater Planning Study. Work on the study is underway and is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
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EAWSD Water Utility Master Plan An up-to-date District Water Utility Master Plan is required to evaluate, prioritize, and price necessary capital improvements for meeting the District’s critical future needs properly and objectively. The District’s current Plan was completed in October 2017 with most of the capital projects identified in the plan having been either fully implemented or under design and construction. As state and federal funds for water infrastructure improvements have become increasingly scarce, one of the most important criteria for obtaining such funds is project readiness for implementation as demonstrated by a complete and up-to-date project plan. In June 2021, the Board approved a Task Order to Molzen Corbin under their existing Engineering Services Contract to prepare a Water Utility Master Plan which is scheduled to be completed in June 2022.