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Dona Ana County approves funding, conditions to support CRUWA system repairs and dissolution oversight
Summary
The commission approved immediate expenditures and directed staff to provide case-by-case letters of assurance to support CRUWA grant applications as the county prepares to assume water and wastewater assets.
The Dona Ana County Commission on Aug. 12 approved a resolution authorizing immediate and conditional financial steps to stabilize water and wastewater assets held by the County's utility authority (CRUWA) as the authority moves toward dissolution or transfer. The board approved a package that includes repair funding, installation of monitoring systems and limited assurances for potential creditors and funders.
Assistant County Manager Steven Lopez told the board the county and the City of Sunland Park are coordinating the dissolution of CRUWA and that investments made by the county into infrastructure would remain county property while municipal improvements within Sunland Park's boundaries would remain the city's. Lopez said the county needed to act on short-term repairs before formally taking asset control to avoid inheriting a failing system.
The board approved $56,000 from county reserves to repair a pivot effluent discharge system at the West Mesa Wastewater Treatment Facility that has been nonfunctional since 2019; staff said stolen wiring and motors left the irrigation pivot inoperable and left discharge ponds on site. Commissioners also authorized $175,000 already budgeted for installation of SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems on county water and wastewater assets to enable remote monitoring. A $6,100 allocation was approved to share repair costs on Earhart Way following a water-main rupture.
Lopez also asked the board to authorize the county manager to sign letters of assurance and to accept financial commitments on a case-by-case basis for grants and loans CRUWA seeks. Those assurances would be reviewed by staff and reported monthly to the board; the county manager's authority would be constrained by existing signature limits for commitments exceeding established thresholds. The resolution also authorized the county manager to offer letters of employment assurance to current CRUWA staff who indicate interest in positions with the county.
The board approved the resolution by roll call (Resolution No. 2025-91). Commissioners Ramirez, Reynolds, Sanchez, Vice Chair Chaparro and Chair Sheldrow Hernandez voted in favor.
County staff said the actions are meant to both protect public health and ensure the county does not inherit failing infrastructure on day one of any asset transfer. Lopez told the commission that rate increases under consideration by CRUWA were part of long-delayed revenue adjustments and that allowing CRUWA to complete rate work before transfer could make the system fiscally sounder when it becomes a county utility.
The county will track any commitments and report them to the commission, and staff will coordinate implementation of the repairs and SCADA installation.
