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Board presses county on water‑system tie‑ins and water‑election timing for new school sites
Summary
County and district staff discussed permanent and temporary easements for the regional water system; board members urged the district to complete a water election and carve out water‑rights so county designers can prioritize tie‑ins to district tanks and schools.
Pojoaque Valley board members heard a briefing from county representative Jerry Darling on the regional water‑system project and easement language tied to two district parcels. Darling described permanent easements and temporary construction easements and said recent project phases included installation of fire hydrants and main lines in the area.
Board members raised specific technical questions about how and when district wells and tanks would be tied into the new system and whether the district must elect water rights now to guarantee priority in design and phasing. One member cautioned that, if the district leaves a low usage figure on record, future allocations or design assumptions might lock the district into limited capacity; another urged carving out sufficient water rights to serve anticipated campus expansion.
Administration said the review process for federal allocations and related RGR items is underway and indicated some HB/Federal funds must be spent by specified deadlines; county staff said they could provide will‑serve letters and that water could be available in the near term. The board requested an agenda item to approve a water election so design work could proceed with district priorities reflected in the county's system plans.
No formal vote was taken on Dec. 17; the county representative said he would return with answers to questions about tie‑ins and timing.
