Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
CLOVIS — The Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority board officially socked away a nearly $672.4 million agreement during a special meeting Sept. 29 that guarantees 75% of the funds needed for completion of the Ute Lake Water Project.
“It’s a milestone day,” Mike Morris, the mayor of Clovis and chairman of the ENMWUA’s board said as he called for the vote on the agreement between the water utility and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that finalizes funding arrangements for the remainder of the Ute Lake project.
The agreement locks in the federal share of funding at nearly $504.3 million, noting that the 25% non-federal share, which includes state and local funding, stands at nearly $168.1 million, Orlando Ortega, the water authority’s executive director, told the board.
The local portion, shared by the cities of Clovis, Portales, Elida and Texico totals 10%, or about $67.2 million.
The Ute Lake Water Project eventually will result in a system that will take water from Ute Lake near Logan, send it up the caprock to a treatment plant, then distribute it to Curry and Roosevelt county communities participating in the project.