Officials in a city of around 8,100 people in northwestern New Mexico are pushing for the construction of a new water reclamation facility.
To that end, they hope to secure $1.5 million in state capital outlay funding from the New Mexico State Legislature to build the project.
Long discussed by local leaders, the waste water facility would replace the existing Water Reclamation Facility, located at 1176 South Church Street to the west of U.S. Route 550.
That facility treats waste water collected from a defined sewer service area in Bloomfield. Treated effluent is then discharged into the San Juan River.
An additional $11 million in funding to build a new plant has already been received from a clean water revolving loan fund through the New Mexico Environmental Department.
A public information meeting is scheduled for February 4 to reveal the latest engineering, design, and environmental impact information regarding the project.
An earlier document prepared by the Las Cruces civil engineering firm of Bohannan-Huston noted that a modern facility is needed to “meet effluent permit demands that are expected to become more stringent in the future” under the federal Clean Water Act.
By Garry Boulard