Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
PORTALES — A Stage 3 emergency water emergency that went into effect Wednesday was properly declared by John DeSha, the city’s public utilities director, according to Portales city manager Sarah Austin.
The Portales City Council did not declare the emergency, but two councilors reacted to it at a council meeting last Tuesday.
Ward B Councilor Oscar Robinson said it is unfair to place restrictions on residents when the city will not fix leaks in its own water system. A water leak near his home has persisted for weeks, he said, and has not received action from the city.
Austin said such leaks reported to the city should receive action.
Mayor Ron Jackson supported the declaration and urged residents to comply with the watering restrictions, saying some sacrifice of “green lawns” likely will be necessary.
The emergency declaration resulted from “a combination of extended drought, extreme heat and a decline in wellfield capacity,” according to Austin’s news release announcing the emergency.
Austin wrote city personnel will be strictly enforcing Stage 3 emergency rationing. The following restrictions will remain in effect until the emergency is over:
• Outdoor landscape watering: No watering, except for trees, shrubs and vegetable gardens with shut-off hose and hand-held container.
• Car washing at residence is prohibited.
• Washing down pavement, sidewalks, etc., is prohibited
• Residential spas and swimming pools: Filling and refilling is prohibited.
• Filling and refilling of ornamental fountains is prohibited.
Failure to follow the emergency water rationing restrictions will result in disconnection of water service, as allowed by city ordinances, the news release stated.
In a public hearing at last Tuesday’s council meeting on Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan proposals, Portales resident Eldon Merrick asked the council if the proposals included contingency plans if the city runs out of water.
Austin said several items on the list include improvements and expansion of the city’s water well field. The city, she said, had wellfield projects near the top of its ICIP proposals presented to the 2024 New Mexico Legislature, “but we were shot down.”