Residents accuse Las Cruces Utilities of failing to document lead-and-copper investigations

Multiple residents used the public‑comment period at the Nov. 17 Las Cruces City Council meeting to accuse Las Cruces Utilities of misrepresenting its compliance with lead‑and‑copper rules and of failing to document investigations at disadvantaged properties.

Liz Rodriguez Johnson told the council she had obtained records through an IPRA (Inspection of Public Records Act) request that, in her words, show no investigation reports for disadvantaged properties despite a prior city promise to prioritize those investigations as a condition of receiving approximately $15 million in state funding. "If no record exists that a required action took place, it didn't happen," she told the council, and she asked that the city manager be instructed to investigate every disadvantaged property and publish written inspection reports.

Lynn Moorer reinforced the allegation and presented a set of handouts she said show inconsistencies in the utilities' inventories and disappearance of disadvantaged-property designations. Moorer asserted the utilities create investigation reports for some properties (for example, properties with galvanized piping) but not for disadvantaged properties and that the department had previously claimed no lead pipes were found.

Councilors did not provide a direct utilities response during public comment. Council leadership later read a closed‑meeting statement and City staff discussed the utilities assistance fund and other matters during reports. No formal staff report refuting or confirming the IPRA claims was made at the Nov. 17 meeting; residents asked the council to direct the city manager to act.

The council did not take a formal vote during the public-comment period on the request to order citywide inspections; the matter was presented as citizen concern and a request for staff action.