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Eastern New Mexico Water Authority details Ute pipeline progress, targets 2031 completion
Summary
Mayor Morris, chair of the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority, told the Clovis Water Policy Advisory Committee that construction of the Ute pipeline is advancing, with major segments built, federal and state funding in place and a target in-service year of 2031.
Mayor Morris, chair of the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority, told the Clovis Water Policy Advisory Committee that construction on the Ute pipeline project is advancing and on track for the authority's target in-service year of 2031.
Morris said the project will deliver a maximum of 16,415 acre-feet to member communities and described the authority's funding model as roughly 75% federal, 15% state and 10% local. "The linchpin in our plans is introducing a new and second renewable source of water into the equation," Morris said, adding that reuse water, groundwater conservation and surface water from the Ute Reservoir will form a diversified supply portfolio for the region.
The authority is a federally authorized project that received authorization in 2009 and was established by the state legislature in 2010, Morris said. He credited recent funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act beginning in 2022 with accelerating construction. Morris said major elements already finished or near completion include the intake structure at Ute Reservoir, finished-water segments connecting Cannon Air Force Base and Clovis, and sections of pipe toward Portales. He reported that raw-water segments and pump stations are in advanced design, and that notice-to-proceed had been issued for the Texico lateral.
Morris described the treatment approach as including a pilot reverse-osmosis membrane filtration plant at the intake to optimize performance: Jacobs Engineering will operate the pilot for at least six months to tune the full-scale plant, he said. He also described the project's allocation breakout with Clovis holding the largest share (about 76%) and including a reservation for Cannon Air Force Base, which Morris said is a direct beneficiary of the system.
Morris told the committee the authority is spending a large federal-state-local construction budget now and expects some FY25 dollars to carry over into FY26; he said the project's FY25 budget was being spent and he had discussed progress with federal delegation and Bureau of Reclamation staff. He urged continued attention to partnerships and landowner collaboration for easements and land restoration during construction.
The presentation included maps and photos of pipeline trenches, junction vaults and restored land; Morris said the authority is emphasizing restoration practices such as straw crimping and reseeding after trenching. He encouraged the public to follow the authority's updates via its Facebook page or the upipelineproject.com redirect.
Votes at a glance: The committee approved the minutes of Jan. 13 by motion and second; the motion carried with no opposition recorded in the meeting transcript.
