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Town of Taos hears plan to meet tighter water-quality limits, upgrade wastewater plant operations
Summary
Consultants outlined a multi-phase plan to improve nutrient removal, replace membrane modules and address septic truck impacts at the Town of Taos wastewater treatment plant; staff described parts orders, long equipment lead times and a pending Preliminary Engineering Report that will include cost estimates and implementation options.
Paul Kennedy, an operations consultant with Gallatin Operational Solutions, told the Taos Town Council on Jan. 28 that the town's wastewater treatment plant serves the town plus parts of the surrounding region and accepts up to 30,000 gallons per day of septic waste under current policy.
Kennedy summarized the plant's history, regulatory context and a three-tier set of technical options intended to help the plant meet future nutrient limits being phased in through the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) and New Mexico Environment Department permits. He said the original plant work began in 1974, major upgrades occurred in 1985 and membrane-bioreactor (MBR) filtration was added after a 2010'11 construction phase.
The presentation said the 2019 EPA/state study concluded full reverse-osmosis treatment could cost roughly $34 million in capital and would have raised household sewer bills by an estimated $1,900 per year if implemented all at once; regulators and the EPA instead adopted a staged approach. Kennedy said a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) now underway will analyze alternatives, put costs to them and propose an implementation schedule, normally covering a 20-year planning horizon.
The consultant divided treatment alternatives into three groups: process optimization with dissolved-oxygen and carbon additions; modest construction re-using existing clarifiers and basins to add a post-anoxic treatment step; and a larger build option creating a new basin sized for long-term plant operations. He said the PER will include no-action and multiple build alternatives plus options for reusing effluent (for irrigation), routing it elsewhere (the Rio Grande) or using evaporation/infiltration methods to move flows under a different permit type.
Kennedy described a prioritized "tier" list that mixes immediate repairs and longer-term upgrades. Update points presented to council included ordered parts for the belt press, a failed wash-water pump awaiting a vendor quote, delivery of a blower unit from Korea with service scheduled, and procurement of membrane modules with lead times now on the order of 76''80 weeks for the newest order. He said membrane cassette frames and many other items are also in procurement, and that some service reps will travel from out of state to assist with installations and training.
Council members focused on funding, regionalization and operational impacts. Mayor Pascual Maestas, Manager Martinez and multiple council members emphasized the plant is a regional asset that serves El Prado, El Valle de los Ranchos, the Pueblo and other users and that some capital costs historically have been paid from the town's capital and general funds. Council Member Oswald urged incorporation of capital needs into a rate study so ratepayers rather than general fund transfers support future replacements.
Kennedy and staff discussed the septic-receival station that currently allows haulers to bring concentrated, largely anoxic loads to the plant. Kennedy said septic loads can depress dissolved oxygen in the treatment basins when dumped all at once; moving the receival point into the collection system or building on-site storage and metering at the plant would dilute or stage those loads and reduce biological upset. Councilors asked whether a proposed site near the town recycling center would create odors; Kennedy and Public Works Director Reynold Vasquez said modern enclosures and air-handling can limit offsite odors and that design engineering will consider controls.
Council members and staff also discussed regional governance and cost-sharing, with several members urging outreach to El Prado, Los Ranchos and county partners and a possible joint town-county meeting to discuss interconnection agreements and shared funding.
No formal vote was taken on the plant presentation. Staff said the PER will include cost estimates for equipment, construction and a 20-year life-cycle analysis; those PER cost figures will be used for budgeting, grant applications and any rate study adjustments.
