QUAY COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – It’s a massive project that’s been decades in the making to bring water from Ute Lake to Clovis and Portales, but now Quay County is asking for it to be paused.
Story continues below
Remembering: ‘The Ultimate Leader,’ a tribute to Bill Anderson
Community: How can you get to the New Mexico State Fair?
Food: Restaurant health inspections on temporary pause in Albuquerque
Podcast: Local Impacts of SCOTUS Decision On Homeless Encampments
On Tuesday, Quay County sent the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority, which is in charge of the project, a letter asking them to stop the work. In the letter, the county said original plans for the pipeline, dating back to 2005, were based on the understanding that water from the lake could be treated into drinking water by conventional methods. But, the letter cites a 2022 study showing water in the lake had harmful chemicals including PFAS, and would require a different treatment. It said ENMWUA wants to continue its construction of a pipeline in Quay County in the spring of next year.
“So, all we’re asking them to do, is hey, if you guys get your act together, you get the amount of funding that you need, design that will work then fine, come down here and build your pipeline. But until then, we don’t want you coming down here and disrupting our community and basically tearing up our city,” said Warren Frost, attorney for Quay County.
Frost said the county just found out about the results of the 2022 water study after an IPRA request. “This new water test came in 2022 and Quay County just learned about it three weeks ago,” he said. “It was kind of a eureka moment. The proverbial smoking gun.”
The county said ENMWUA would need to build a different type of treatment plant that could cost up to $600 million and it’s not clear if it would work. Frost said they now plan to go to municipal leadership meetings in Texico, Portales, and Clovis to plead their case.
“And ask them, don’t tear up our area until you have the funding and the design available and verified that it will work,” said Frost.
Quay County requested a response to their letter by September 15. KRQE News 13 reached out to ENMWUA and the mayor of Clovis who is also the chair of the ENMWUA board for comment. They said they would provide a statement soon.