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INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS AND
FUTURE GROWTH FAQs

Why is EAWSD continuing to invest in infrastructure?

  • 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.

 

How are these improvements funded?

  • 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. 

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How are infrastructure needs documented?

  • 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.

 

Why do we need to drill new wells if water consumption has fallen?

  • 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.

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How is future growth managed?

 

  • 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. 

 

What must developers do before connecting new homes to EAWSD’s water?

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.

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