Tucumcari official requests help from water authority

Ute Lake

From the Clovis News Journal - By Kevin Wilson  - PORTALES — A Tucumcari city commissioner requested help Tuesday from the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority. He figured the authority had more pull with the Interstate Streams Commission than he did. He first said he was in full support of the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System — a pipeline from Ute Reservoir to authority members in Curry and Roosevelt counties — but some protections needed to be in place for Tucumcari and Quay County, where the reservoir is located.. Lumpkin said the city and county were being required to hook up to an intake structure (pump station) the authority was building. But Lumpkin said that would be a cost of $6 million, and Quay County and Tucumcari are already working with another provider on a separate intake structure as part of development of the Ute Lake Ranch development. Lumpkin also requested the authority help establish a minimum elevation for the reservoir, built in the 1950s to create a sustainable water supply for eastern New Mexico. Lumpkin asked for the long-promoted elevation of 3,765 feet, almost 12 feet below the reservoir's current level, and reduced pumping when the elevation nears that mark. "It would always be there to protect the future of that reservoir," Lumpkin said, "and the future of the project." Read more.

Tucumcari official requests help from water authority