Alamogordo commission hears comprehensive water master plan calling for $4.38 million in pipeline and operational fixes

The Alamogordo City Commission on Tuesday received a presentation of a new water master plan that models the city’s distribution system, projects demand to 2043 and recommends a roughly $4.38 million capital-improvement program and operational changes. The plan, presented by Utilities Director Dave Nunley and Sam Kefren, an engineer and project manager with CDM Smith, maps the distribution network, calibrates a hydraulic model with hydrant tests and billing data, and forecasts an average-day supply increase from about 4.9 million gallons per day (MGD) today to roughly 6.65 MGD by 2043 and a maximum-day demand rising toward 12 MGD. The plan matters because it seeks to give city staff a single, calibrated model to test improvements, size mains for fire flow and guide development decisions. The presentation noted that the city currently loses an estimated 1.6 MGD, about 33 percent of supply, and that a planning-level capital improvement program (CIP) focusing on pipe looping, selective upsizing and PRV adjustments would cost approximately $4,380,000. CDM Smith said the model used the city’s GIS, pump curves, SCADA and billing records and was field-calibrated with 26 hydrant flow tests conducted in October 2023. The consultants modeled two scenarios: an average day and a “max day” (peak irrigation/usage) to test pressures, velocities and available fire flows. The firm allocated future demand geographically based on known development parcels and an assumed 1.2% growth rate. Key findings and recommendations included: increasing looped mains and upsizing selected mains in Zone 4 (southwest) to improve fire flow and circulation; renaming and labeling pressure zones (zones 1–7) with hydraulic grade-line elevations to help operators; and adopting an ordinance requiring individual in-home pressure reducing valves (PRVs) when static pressure exceeds 80 psi. The consultant estimated the in-home PRV cost at roughly $300–$1,000 per residence, typically borne by the homeowner unless the city chooses another approach. The study flagged Zone 4 hydrants as often providing less than the 500 gallons-per-minute (GPM) minimum CDM Smith recommended for fire flow; several isolated low-fire-flow locations were identified and tied to existing small-diameter mains planned for replacement. High static pressures — commonly 100–120 psi — were identified in some northern service areas; the consultant recommended requiring residential PRVs rather than system-wide million-dollar infrastructure works that would create dead ends and worsen water age. Operational recommendations included: opening a 1-inch bypass at the Alamo Canyon water plant to improve circulation, closing select PRVs during low-flow periods to reduce water age, implementing SCADA across water assets, conducting an AWWA M36 water audit (estimated $40,000–$50,000), instituting valve-exercising and asset management programs, and continuing work on the planned brackish reverse-osmosis resiliency plant. Commissioners asked about who would pay for required in-home PRVs (Nunley and the consultant said residents generally pay), timing for the Highway 70 parallel main replacement (design nearing completion; construction expected to take about a year once started) and whether the plan would improve disinfection-byproduct issues tied to water age (consultants said yes, by improving circulation and reducing stagnation). The presentation was informational; no formal commission action was required that night. Staff said they will provide hydraulic maps to commissioners and pursue implementation items including a SCADA/specific water audit scope and CIP sequencing.