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Residents tell council Las Cruces Utilities’ lead‑pipe inventory and testing methods leave gaps, call for independent review
Summary
During public comment at the April 21 Las Cruces City Council meeting residents urged an independent engineering review after raising concerns that the city's inventory and testing approach for the EPA Lead and Copper Rule omit neighborhoods and undercount hazardous service lines.
Residents asked Las Cruces City Council on April 21 to require an independent technical review of Las Cruces Utilities’ approach to complying with the Environmental Protection Agency’s revised Lead and Copper Rule (LCR), saying the utility’s inventory and testing methods omit many service lines and may undercount lead lines.
Lynn Moorerer, who identified herself as a resident and activist, told the council city records show 65 properties with no listed service lines and that more than half of neighborhoods and numerous schools appear missing from the utility’s inventory. “It’s a lot easier to boast no lead pipes when the city is ignoring half the city’s pipes,” she said during the public‑comment period.
Liz Rodriguez Johnson raised related concerns about how the map classifies pipes by installation date, telling the council that some lines installed before the 1986 lead ban are marked nonlead without verification and that the inventory contains many “unknowns.” She said callers have been told no financial help is available for replacement despite federal funding programs being in place and urged the council to engage an experienced engineer with management experience to evaluate the utility’s implementation of the rule.
What residents say: speakers described three core problems: - Missing or incomplete inventory records for a large portion of the city, including elementary and middle‑school areas; - Testing and classification methods that residents described as “deficient,” producing false negatives; and - Inconsistent public communications about financial assistance available for service‑line replacement.
What staff and council said: during the meeting staff did not present a formal response to these public‑comment concerns; the speakers asked the council to publicly disclose the inventory and to contract an independent engineer to verify the inventory and testing approach. No formal council motion or vote on the subject was recorded at the April 21 meeting.
Why it matters: the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule requires utilities to create a complete and accurate inventory of service lines and to replace lead lines on a timeline determined by the rule. Incomplete inventories or inaccurate testing can delay replacements and affect which property owners receive notification or replacement assistance.
What residents asked council to do next: attendees requested the council require Las Cruces Utilities to publish a complete inventory, to disclose the methodology used to classify materials, to confirm where verification testing has occurred, and to engage one or more independent engineers to evaluate the utility’s procedures and public communications. They also asked the council to publicize federal funding options for homeowner assistance.
Ending: speakers urged prompt city action to correct the inventory and to ensure transparency so homeowners know whether they have lead service lines and what financial help is and will be available.
