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Residents tell Las Cruces council utilities has not prioritized lead sampling of disadvantaged properties
Summary
Multiple public commenters urged immediate action, alleging that Las Cruces Utilities inspected only about 20% of properties designated as disadvantaged and requested 50 immediate inspections to demonstrate compliance with commitments tied to $15 million of NMFA funding.
During public participation at the May 18 Las Cruces City Council meeting, residents urged the city to act immediately on long‑standing concerns about drinking‑water testing and the prioritization of disadvantaged properties for lead and galvanized‑pipe sampling.
Liz Rodriguez Johnson told the council the city had committed to prioritize disadvantaged properties when pursuing $15 million in funding from the New Mexico Finance Authority, but that “only 20% of city inspections so far are for disadvantaged properties.” She said her group has repeatedly supplied lists of properties valued under $200,000 that it believes should be prioritized and asked the city to inspect 50 of those properties immediately and document the results.
Lynn Moore corroborated the concern and said that records provided in response to public‑records requests indicated no sampling in 2025 and that the municipal system will not be sampled in 2026 under the current schedule, because some sampling occurs only every three years.
Speakers urged clearer public communication when residents request tap sampling—especially from households with galvanized or unknown interior piping—saying federal lead and copper rules require sampling when requested. City staff later discussed utilities’ sampling practices in their presentations; no direct departmental pledge to complete the 50 inspections was recorded during the public‑comment segment.
Councilors and city staff said they would take the concerns back to management, and speakers asked staff to provide documented evidence that inspections would be prioritized and fully recorded.
