A long-developing water project in eastern New Mexico is in line to receive some $89.5 million in funding coming out of Washington.
The Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Project is made up of 120 miles of pipeline, as well as three pump stations. Focus of the project: extending water pipeline infrastructure from the Ute Reservoir to a handful of communities running along the Texas state line.
The pipeline, upon completion, will transport potable water to the towns of Texico, Portales, and Elida. That water is intended for commercial, industrial, and municipal use.
A section running from the reservoir to the city of Clovis, as well as the Cannon Air Force Base, has already been completed.
Now the United States Bureau of Reclamation has given official notice to the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority of fiscal year 2023 funding to advance construction of the project.
The new funding comes on top of the $177.4 million in federal support that was secured last year.
Clovis Mayor Mike Morris, in comments reported in the Eastern New Mexico News, said the latest federal funding will “keep the project on schedule for completion within the end of the decade.”
For years in the planning stage, the project received federal authorization in 2009.
By Garry Boulard
