CRRUA insists drinking water is safe to drink, Doña Ana County Board voices concerns

The Camino Real Regional Utility Authority recently failed an unannounced New Mexico Environment Department arsenic sampling at its Industrial Park and currently has 10 active violations for drinking water - six since Jan. 1 - according to the State of New Mexico.

Yet CRRUA interim director JC Crosby assured residents and the Doña Ana County Board of County Commissioners that the drinking water is safe. Crosby presented to the Board April 9 with several residents in attendance.

"I wish we could believe what was on the presentation," said Vivian Fuller, one of six residents in attendance to comment regarding the utility. "Community members bring us dirty water and vouch for the skin issues and I can vouch for the hair loss.

"To top it off, rates keep going up and it's for water that we can't even use. I would like to ask for some help. There is a lot of people being affected by this."

The Board of Commissioners expressed its own concerns regarding the utility, which the county governs through a joint powers agreement with the City of Sunland Park.

"We need a plan," said District 3 Commissioner Shannon Reynolds. "We are laying a lot of money and opportunity on what is going on in the southern part of the county. We cannot afford to fail."

CRRUA details increased safety measures, cites understaffed utility and rapid growth

According to Crosby, the utility currently has 7,900 water meter connections. He said there will be an additional 1,000 homes by the end of 2025 and 6,500 new homes within five years.

CRRUA operates with an administrative staff of five and seven operators. Crosby said the utility needs to double its staff.

According to Crosby, the utility has addressed half of the 58 deficiencies cited by the state in the 2023 NMED sanitary survey, which occurs every three years.

On Feb. 2, Drinking Water Bureau Chief Joe Martinez issued two letters to Crosby.

The utility failed to correct all significant deficiencies identified during the 2023 sanitary survey. The CRRUA water system was required to complete corrective action and document it to the state by Jan. 31. According to the letter, the utility had yet to respond and would be required to notify customers of the violations within 30 days of the letter, and continue to post the public notice every three months until the deficiencies had been corrected. According to NMED officials, the utility responded with the necessary documentation on Feb. 1, but was still issued a notice of violation for missing the deadline.

According to the administrative compliance order, also sent to Crosby on Feb. 2, the utility was assessed a $251,580 civil penalty for four violations, which the utility has appealed.

Crosby said the utility has secured experts and on-call engineers to help train staff to sustain the arsenic treatment facilities. As a result of the survey, CRRUA has implemented standard operating procedures for the arsenic treatment facilities and is in the process of upgrading technology, which Crosby said would have allowed staff to respond at a quicker to issues of transparency with customers after reports of water with an uncommon occurrence of extremely high pH. in December 2023.

Additionally, Crosby said the utility is now sampling bi-monthly despite the state determining that an unannounced sample taken on March 15 from 2401 Airport Road in Santa Teresa that had levels above the federal drinking water maximum contaminant level for arsenic.

"Three days later, CRRUA pulled a sample from the same system area," Crosby said. "Our samples came out two days later that we were below (the federal drinking water maximum contaminant level for arsenic)," Crosby said.

Facing lawsuit, Doña Ana County seeks additional information from utility

The Board, as well as CRRUA, Sunland Park, the State of New Mexico, CRRUA chair Susana Chaparro and former CRRUA Executive Director Brent Westmoreland are named in a notice of tort claim, citing "economic damages and health issues."

"Would it not have made sense at all for us to be able to get updates in closed session at a minimum," asked District 5 Commissioner Manuel Sanchez asked. "Doña Ana County is part of that litigation as well, but yet we haven't, as Commissioners, received any updates from you, our legal department or anything. That is what I was hoping for is to understand what is going on."

Crosby said he would be open to meeting with commissioners in closed session, but would need permission from the utility board, which currently includes Commissioners Chaparro and Diana Murillo.

"I do think a closed session with this Board is a very good idea," Chaparro said. "There are several issues that cannot be spoken about publicly."

As the southern county plans for growth, leaders depend on input from CRRUA. It became clear during the meeting that the utility needs to address the concerns brought forth from the current customer base.

"You need to make sure that we, this Board, is well aware of what your requirements are for us to make sure that you succeed," Reynolds said.

"If you don't do it correctly, these people aren't served properly, we have a lot at risk as a county."

Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on X @jpgroves.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: CRRUA assures Doña Ana County Board water is safe to drink