Strategic Initiatives

Coming soon.

Local government has many roles, but none more important than the proactive preservation of water.
Currently two wells, East & West, supply our municipal drinking water. McBride well is the third large capacity well. The McBride well is not connected to the town distribution system and has not been used since 1991. At that time, it was taken off line as a precaution, because its proximity to the Cimarron Mining, Superfund Site.
Information taken from the 2017 SMA PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING REPORT FOR CARRIZOZO WATER SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS:
The Superfund location was taken off the National Priority list in 2001. The NMED (New Mexico Environment Department) is currently monitoring the site, and there are no State or Federal restrictions on using the McBride well. Given the wells location within the high production zone and its proximity to the distribution system, the McBride well should also be prioritized for improvement.
Town of Carrizozo Wellhead Equipment Improvements Plan, March 22, 2021
Table 3: Summary of Engineer’s Opinion of Probable Cost
Item #4 - McBride Well Improvement Costs: $327,000*
*Note – This would include a new well house.
A number of steps need to take place before the town commits to fund the process to bring the McBride well back on line as a part of the municipal potable water system.
One of the first steps is to actually pump and log the well. Several determinations need to be made, such as static level(s), drawdown, recovery rate and water quality. Since the McBride well is currently not connected to the town water distribution system we were fortunate to find a commercial account to purchase all the water needed for testing and not have to pump it out on the ground.
Commercial water sales are an important factor in protecting the town’s water rights. Remember, “use them or lose them” is always an important consideration.
As recently as 2017 unaccounted water was 44 to 50% of production. Since then, the Town has implemented a number of measures to minimize these losses. At present unaccounted water is averaging more than 1 million gallons per month; we’re not finished yet.
The age and condition of the Carrizozo Water Distribution network, has been and continues to be a big part of the unaccounted water problem. Locating and fixing leaks in the network are now a high priority of the Public Works Department.  Old water meters are a big part of the unaccounted water number. As meters age they report less and less water flow. The town has recently received a grant to replace all meters with new, radio read meters. Listed below are recent and/or ongoing projects/programs to update and increase the efficiency of the Carrizozo Water Production & Distribution System: 2021 Town of Carrizozo Water Development Plan – Aegean Consulting
2021 Town of Carrizozo Wellhead Equipment Improvement Plan – Bohannan Huston
2017 Preliminary Engineering Report – Carrizozo Water System Improvements – SMA
CDBG and Colonias Infrastructure Projects
Well and Wellhead Protection Grant $600,000
Water System Improvement Grant $500,000
Water Meter Replacement Grant $250,000
2021 Town of Carrizozo Comprehensive Plan
2021-22 DOT HWY 54 – Central Ave. Project
2022 Bonito Lake Water Availability