No. Eldorado Area Water and Sanitation District (EAWSD) is a special governmental district. It makes no profit. It is governed by an elected, unpaid Board of Directors, supported by volunteer committees. All its revenues — whether from rates or property taxes — go toward operating, maintaining and improving the water system and retiring its debt.

To operate our water district and maintain our wells, pumping stations and distribution system, EAWSD relies on two primary sources of funding: the revenue from water sales and fees, and property taxes. To fund new wells and infrastructure improvements, we supplement our own revenues by applying for government grants and low-interest state and federal loans.

Property tax revenues are a critical resource for the District because, unlike water rates, they do not vary with consumption. Customers living within the formal water district boundaries that were established by the State in 2004 currently pay 4.246 mils ($4.264 per $1,000 of taxable property value) in taxes to EAWSD as part of their annual property tax assessment. Customers whose property lies outside the water district pay a higher “Out of District” monthly base fee in lieu of taxes.

EAWSD’s service area includes communities located on both sides of U.S. Highway 285 between I-25 and Lamy. Customers within the formal boundaries of the District, which were established by the State in 2004, support EAWSD through their property taxes. Customers whose properties lie outside those boundaries pay a higher “Out of District” monthly base fee in lieu of taxes. A District Boundary Map is available online, and a paper copy can be consulted at the EAWSD offices.

EAWSD carries an unusually large debt for a water utility of its size because of the cost incurred to acquire the water utility from Eldorado’s original developer in 2004. The District acquired the water system through condemnation: the jury in the condemnation case set the price of the utility at $11.047 million. Subsequently, EAWSD took on a debt of $13.7 million to acquire the utility (including bond issuance costs and funds for critically needed capital improvements). Some of this original debt was in the form of general obligation bonds secured by property taxes, and some was in the form of revenue bonds secured by water rates. These bonds were refinanced at lower interest rates in June 2013, using loans from the New Mexico Finance Authority and will be fully paid off in 2025. Our payments to service this debt cost more than one million dollars a year. Our current debt principal as of June 30, 2017 is $7,805,436 with an average interest rate of less than 3 percent. The District will retire approximately $723,000 of the debt this year and the principal balance owed will continue to decrease every year. Click here for more details and to see a chart.

Detailed budget information is available on the EAWSD Financial Information page. Proposed annual budgets are presented for public review and comment at Board meetings in April and May of each year. Progress against budget is reviewed quarterly by the Board on a formal basis, with monthly updates provided as needed.

EAWSD maintains a 5-year renewal, replacement and capital improvement plan (the “Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan” or “ICIP”), which is updated, reviewed and approved by the Board annually, and submitted to the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration. 

EAWSD maintains both a long-term Utility Master Plan and an Asset Management Plan, which help determine improvements needed and the timing for infrastructure replacement. These plans are used to develop and adopt the 5-year capital improvement plan (the “Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan” or “ICIP”), which is updated, reviewed and approved by the Board annually and submitted to the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration. These plans are available to the community in the Technical Reports folder in the EAWSD Document Library.

Board approval is required to proceed with infrastructure improvement projects and major maintenance or replacement projects. The Board prioritizes projects based on the asset management and utility master plans; on recommendations from staff, consultants and the EAWSD Capital Projects Advisory Committee; and on community input. Due to budget limitations and funding availability, approval is often given for specific phases of a project: for example, the Board might initially approve the planning, design, and engineering phases before authorizing the procurement, construction, and/or installation phases.

The EAWSD website provides links for communicating with Board members and the General Manager. Alternatively, emails can be sent to the general mailbox, info@EAWSD.org. More importantly, members of the community are strongly encouraged to attend regular Board meetings and meet their elected volunteer Board members in person.

• Quite simply, as is the case with water utilities across the country, EAWSD's water infrastructure is aging, the oldest sections of which are nearing 50 years old and in need of replacement or repair.
• Without replacement and improvement of the infrastructure, maintenance and repair costs would increase and emergency repairs would be required with more frequency at higher cost, and with a reduction in the overall reliability of service to our customers.
• The District’s asset management plan and five-year leak study helps to determine the optimum timing for infrastructure replacement, based on cost of replacement versus cost of maintenance and repair of the asset. 
  • In certain areas of the District, we are experiencing service line and water main breaks more frequently;  
  • Older wells have lost production capacity and will require replacement;
  • Pumping stations will require major improvements or total replacement;  
  • Storage tanks require regular maintenance and recoating;  
  • Meters should be replaced every 5 to 7 years to ensure accuracy in the measurement of water usage;  
  • In addition, as newer technology becomes available, we need to be in a position to leverage that technology to make our system more efficient and reliable.

Improvements are funded through water service and property tax revenues and supplemented by government grants and low-interest state and federal loans. Our recently completed 2025 to 2029 rate study anticipates between $1.25 million and $1.5 million annually in borrowing for capital projects with an additional $0.5 million to $0.75 million in grant funding. 

EAWSD maintains both a long-term Utility Management Plan and an Asset Management Plan. These plans are used to develop and adopt a 5-year capital improvement plan (the “Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan” or “ICIP”), which is updated, reviewed, and approved by the Board annually and submitted to the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration.

Up until 2023, EAWSD depended solely on groundwater which has experienced significant decline in groundwater levels for over the past two decades. The District's most recently completed September 2022 Water Utility Master Plan projected that the District's water demand would exceed 100% of existing groundwater supply capacity within the next few years. Recognizing our acute need for a safe and reliable source of water to supplement our declining groundwater supply, in April 2017 the District reached out to Santa Fe County to re-engage with them in discussions regarding the potential for wholesale supplemental water supply to the District. Fast forward to February 2023, the EAWSD Board unanimously approved the execution of a Joint Water Delivery agreement between the County and EAWSD. New water infrastructure required to convey supplemental water from the County to EAWSD, and the community of Canoncito was completed shortly thereafter. Since that time, EAWSD has taken water deliveries from the County in amounts roughly equivalent to 20% of our total demand. Provisions of the Agreement provide for increases in County water deliveries as needed in amounts roughly equivalent to 60% of total demand. It is not an overstatement to say that this project is the single most important undertaking of EAWSD since its inception in 2004 towards ensuring long-term safe and reliable water deliveries to our customers.

Land use requirements, and thus growth, are regulated by Santa Fe County. However, the County will not authorize a development (or even a lot split) in the District’s water service area without requiring a letter from EAWSD stating that it is willing and able to provide water service to the development. By law, the District must provide water service within its designated boundaries if water is available. The costs of connecting new properties to the EAWSD water system, including water infrastructure costs, are the responsibility of property developers or individual resident requesting service. 

To bring a new development into the EAWSD water system, an individual or developer must provide:

• Water in excess of the development's requirements, typically through a well transferred to EAWSD, or fees of financial equivalence;
• Water rights, or the financial equivalent for EAWSD to acquire additional water rights, equal to the development's requirements;
• Payment of fees based on the value of existing assets needed to provide water service to the development;
• Any pipelines and water service infrastructure required to connect the development and its individual lots to the EAWSD system.

Eldorado Area Water and Sanitation District (EAWSD) is a special governmental district formed under the New Mexico's Water & Sanitation District Act NMSA 1978, Sections 73-21-1 through 73-21-54. The original owner of Eldorado's water system, El Dorado Utilities, Inc., (known as EDU) was a subsidiary of the developer and at the time, a private, for-profit company. Now, EAWSD is a governmental body (not-for-profit) governed by an elected, unpaid Board of Directors. It is subject to the laws of the State of New Mexico and the regulations of the New Mexico Drinking Water Bureau and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. 

• The key advantage is accountability to the community.  EAWSD Board members are both customers and property owners who are elected by fellow customers and property owners.
• All meetings, financial reporting, audits, and procurement decisions are subject to strict regulatory requirements. All monies raised to fund EAWSD become a dedicated resource that cannot be diverted to municipal, county, or corporate projects, as could be the case if the utility were a department in a city, such as Santa Fe, or if our system were still owned by private investors.

• The District has three full-time employees: a General Manager, an Administrative Projects Manager, an Administrative Assistant, and the EAWSD Board (elected & unpaid).
• Committee members, also unpaid, support the Board and administrative staff. They also are property owners and customers of the District. Operations, maintenance, and billing functions are performed under an ongoing contract with Jacobs, a national engineering firm specializing in water utility services. 
• Specialized engineering, financial, legal, and hydrology services are contracted for as needed.

System components include:

• 6 storage tanks, with 2.5 million gallons’ maximum capacity, typically operated at 90% full;
• 9 active wells in two well fields and three major aquifer groups, plus numerous observation/monitoring wells;
• More than 130 miles of distribution and transmission lines (4" and above)
• 7 active booster pump stations;
• More than 600 isolation valves, and 28 pressure-reducing valve stations;
• More than 600 fire hydrants;
• Computerized monitoring and control system (SCADA), connected to key facilities, which provides for remote operation and monitoring of the water system, including by 'on-call' operators at night and on weekends;
• Facilities, including an Administrative Office, Customer Service and Billing Office, and most recently, the Field Workshop for Operations use. 

• Water rates are set through a systematic process that combines professional cost analysis with significant community input. The most recent rate change, which will take effect in January 2020, was the result of a year-long Cost of Service and Rate Design study that projected revenue needs for the next five years.
• The study was conducted by an industry expert in financial planning and management of water and wastewater utilities, who had performed cost-of-service and rate design studies for utilities of all sizes throughout the Southwest. The study was overseen by a committee of District staff and volunteers who were all EAWSD customers with financial and management expertise.
• The study evaluated EAWSD’s current and projected financial situation, with the goal of ensuring we had adequate revenues to fund operations, debt service and capital improvements, comply with debt covenants, and operate on a self-sustaining basis.
• The results of the study were shared extensively with the community and discussed in a formal public hearing before the Board made a final decision.

• Yes. Any future rate adjustments will depend on district-wide water usage, changes in the cost of capital projects and operations, and the degree to which new debt can be minimized by grants and low-interest loans to meet our capital needs.
• The District constantly monitors revenues received and costs incurred. If the cost of operations, maintenance, capital improvements or interest rates were found to be leading to a significant shortfall, the District would undertake another comprehensive study of its cost of service and design of rates and hold a public hearing on any proposed changes to the rates.

Property tax revenues are a critical resource for the District because, unlike water rates, they do not vary with consumption. Customers living within the formal water district boundaries that were established by the State in 2004 currently pay 4.246 mils ($4.264 per $1,000 of taxable property value) in taxes to EAWSD as part of their annual property tax assessment. Customers whose property lies outside the water district pay a higher “Out of District” monthly base fee in lieu of taxes.

EAWSD’s service area includes communities located on both sides of U.S. Highway 285 between I-25 and Lamy. Customers within the formal boundaries of the District, which were established by the State in 2004, support EAWSD through their property taxes. Customers whose properties lie outside those boundaries pay a higher “Out of District” monthly base fee in lieu of taxes. A District Boundary Map is available online (see District Boundaries page), and a paper copy can be consulted at the EAWSD offices.

• About a third of EAWSD’s annual expenses are for debt service payments, owing to the debt incurred to acquire the utility in 2004. Very few water utilities carry such a large debt relative to their customer base. ​
• In addition, EAWSD inherited utility infrastructure in very poor condition due to a lack of maintenance and basic disrepair left from the previous owners, which has required an unusual amount of investment to remediate.
• Some public water utilities subsidize their income from sources of revenue other than customer rates. However, with the exception of occasional state grants for specific capital projects, EAWSD’s only sources of revenue are water rates and property taxes.

The District has a leak adjustment policy. With proper documentation that the leak has been fixed, the District will adjust the amount of the bill attributable to the leak to the lowest tier rate ($10.00/1000 gallons). Customers can also enter into a payment plan for a high bill caused by a leak to pay off the balance over time.

• To encourage lower water usage in peak summer months, the EAWSD Board established a water conservation surcharge in 2013 for water usage in excess of 10,000 gallons per month during the months of May through August. 
• Residential customers using more than 10,000 gallons per month are subject to a surcharge equal to 50% of the applicable water use charges for water usage over 10,000 gallons (Tiers 4, 5 and 6 charges).
• Commercial customers using more than 10,000 gallons per month are subject to a surcharge equal to 50% of the water use charges for water usage over 200% of the monthly average usage for the previous months of October through April.
• Customers who use less than 10,000 gallons per month during summer months are not affected by the Water Conservation Surcharge.

No. Eldorado Area Water and Sanitation District (EAWSD) is a special governmental district. It makes no profit. It is governed by an elected, unpaid Board of Directors, supported by volunteer committees. All its revenues — whether from rates or property taxes — go toward operating, maintaining and improving the water system and retiring its debt.

Contact our Customer Service and Billing Department during business hours.

The EAWSD website provides an abundance of information about all aspects of the District and water service. It also provides a link that customers can use to contact EAWSD. Alternatively, they can send emails to info@EAWSD.org or call (505) 466‐1085.

The EAWSD website provides links for communicating with Board members and the General Manager. Alternatively, emails can be sent to the general mailbox, info@EAWSD.org. More importantly, members of the community are strongly encouraged to attend regular Board meetings and meet their elected volunteer Board members in person.

​Prior to implementation of the Santa Fe County Supplemental water delivery project in late 2022, water supply to EAWSD was provided solely by wells drilled into underlying aquifers. Due to pumping rates that exceeded the sustainable yield of the aquifer, water levels in these wells have been in decline for the last two decades or more. To address this issue, approximately 20% of EAWSD's total water deliveries will come from the County beginning in 2024, increasing to approximately 40% in the subsequent four years. 

Yes.  Our water is tested regularly and meets or exceeds all State and Federal water quality standards. Additional information can be found in our annual water quality reports.

Our groundwater is of high quality and therefore the only required treatment is the addition of small amounts of chlorine as required to prevent the possibility of microbial growth as the water moves through the distribution system to customers' taps. County water, also of high quality, requires air scrubbing for removal of volatile Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs) which are common in many surface waters that are disinfected with chlorine. Some individuals are more sensitive to the taste and smell of chlorine in the water than others. If the chlorine level is bothersome, it can be dissipated by keeping an open pitcher of water for drinking in your refrigerator. Some commercially available tap filters and pitcher-type filters are also effective for removing chlorine. If you experience a persistent, strong taste or odor of chlorine from your tap water, call our operations office to request a test.

Lead occurs in drinking water when the water, flowing through plumbing systems, leaches lead from pipes and plumbing fixtures, particularly lead service lines commonly used in older systems (the lateral pipes between the water main in the street and the home). Fortunately, investigations conducted by EAWSD have concluded that there are no lead service lines in our system. However, brass fixtures and lead solder, commonly used in older household plumbing can be a minor source of lead in water delivered to the customers' tap. The federal regulatory standard for lead in drinking water requires that 90% of customers tested have lead levels below 15 parts per billion (ppb). Ongoing lead testing shows 100% of customers tested below 5.0 ppb, well below the maximum regulatory level. Of the homes tested, 45% have no detection of lead whatsoever.

Water hardness is a measure of the amount of minerals dissolved in the water, particularly calcium carbonate and magnesium. Water is 'soft' when it falls from the sky as rain, but 'hardens' as it travels through soil and rock, dissolving minerals. Since EAWSD draws its water from deep wells drilled into rock formations, our water is hard. Generally, the water hardness is about 300-350 parts per million or milligrams per liter. This is also equivalent to about 17-20 grains per gallon. If you wish to soften your tap water with a commercially available water softener, the installer will want to know this water hardness level to properly adjust the softener.

Total annual water produced by EAWSD from both EAWSD wells and County water deliveries is approximately 500-acre feet, equivalent to 163,000,000 gallons. Due to very low projected growth rates (less than 1% a year), which we expect will be partially offset by a continued emphasis on water conservation, water production is not expected to increase significantly in the coming years. 

Yes, EAWSD has adequate groundwater rights and in 2023 contracted with Santa Fe County to import supplemental water into our system to meet our future and growing drinking water demands. Although we have been experiencing substantial aquifer (ground) water table decline and depletion, we forecast that the purchase of supplemental water from the County will keep pace to meet current and future water demands. This new alternate source may alleviate the current water withdrawals from ground water resilience and gives the promise that our aquifer levels will experience some natural replenishment and rebound towards past water levels. In addition, we will continue to maintain and expand, as necessary, our infrastructure capacity required to store and distribute this new supply.