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EMWT authorized to examine Melody Ranch system; county weighs fronting a $30,000 technical study
Summary
EMWT voted to authorize Bohannon & Houston to do a due-diligence technical memo while the county considers financing the work so a Water Trust Board pre-application can be submitted by Nov. 1; the manager said local declaration options are limited by state law and the anti‑donation clause.
County Manager J. Jordan Barela told commissioners that, under New Mexico law, declaring a local public-health emergency is a state function and that the county's more general "all-hazard" emergency authority has limited ability to provide direct financial assistance to a privately owned water system because of the state's anti‑donation clause. He advised that those legal limits make a change in system ownership the most straightforward path to unlock public funding for repairs.
Barela said EMWT (Eastern Mountain Water Team) authorized Bohannon & Houston to perform technical due diligence (water-rights review, best location for a replacement well, pipeline options) and to prepare a Water Trust Board pre-application due Nov. 1. He told the board Bohannon & Houston estimated the study could be completed in six to eight weeks at costs not to exceed $30,000, and the county may need to act as the contracting agent or front the funding so the work can proceed promptly. EMWT secretary Amy May told commissioners the board was "ready to move forward" and had approved the task order and pre-application work.
