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Thursday, October 5, 2006

Water Group Not New to Area

By Beth Hahn
Mountain View Telegraph
    Derek Saunders' first brush with brackish water in the Estancia Basin came in 2002.
    Saunders, the CEO of WaterTexas, was contacted by a retired Santa Fe businessman who wanted to build a desalination plant south of Estancia and pipe the water to the state capital.
    That plan was derailed by the state engineer, who claimed desalination was too expensive and removing the brackish water could harm fresh water supplies.
    But WaterTexas, an Austin consulting firm specializing in wholesale water projects, kept the Estancia Basin in mind, Saunders said.
    In late 2004, a conglomerate of basin farmers called Sierra Water Works began negotiating with the city of Santa Fe to send treated brackish water to the booming City Different.
    When that plan met furious public resistance, Saunders and others associated with WaterTexas realized that they did not know the Estancia Basin— its politics and its people— well at all.
    "That's when we started working with (Toney) Anaya," he said. "We realized that we needed someone familiar with state policies and someone who is familiar with the (Estancia Basin) area."
    After contacting Anaya, a former New Mexico governor with strong ties to the Estancia Valley, WaterTexas also began working with several Albuquerque firms with local expertise in areas ranging from groundwater to state law.
    The firms include public relations specialists Rick Johnson and Co., engineering company Bohannan Huston Inc., hydrogeology and hydrology experts Balleau Groundwater and one of the state's largest law firms, Modrall Sperling.
    Saunders said WaterTexas involved the other firms because they needed local experience and specialists familiar with state law, the Estancia Basin and intricacies of New Mexico.
    All of the firms have joined under the name Great Basin Water for a potential Estancia Basin desalination and pipeline project. The project was introduced to members of the Estancia Basin Resource Association on Sept. 26.
    Great Basin Water proposes to build a desalination plant on John Turner's ranch south of Estancia, with the water to be used within the Estancia Basin region.
    The ranch is isolated enough that pumping water from wells on the land will not compete with existing fresh-water wells, according to Saunders.
    The desalination plant would treat brackish water and send it north through a pipeline toward Estancia, Moriarty and Edgewood. Utility companies could buy water wholesale from the pipeline and distribute it to their customers, said Saunders.
    For the time being, the project— which could cost $40 million or more— will be funded entirely by private investors, Saunders said.
    "We think it's doable right now in a private context," he said.
    Public funds, most likely through the state, could come into play later in the project— if communities such as Mountainair or Manzano wanted to be served by the regional system, said Saunders.
    The goal of the project is to keep Estancia Basin water in the basin, Saunders said, and no exportation would be allowed.
    Saunders said any entities that buy water from the pipeline, both public and private, would have to agree on terms that would govern the pipeline and its water distribution.
    For instance, the agreement could require users to have sewer service and not septic tanks for any water used, Saunders said. Another restriction might prohibit the irrigation of landscaping or golf courses, a common requirement in states such as California and Texas.
    Brackish water has such a high salt and mineral content that it cannot be consumed by humans without treatment. In the past several years, treatment by reverse osmosis— forcing the water through a membrane that removes impurities— has become more cost-effective, Saunders said.
    Several hurdles must be cleared before Great Basin Water can move forward with the Estancia Basin plan, Saunders said.
    First, a feasibility study is needed to determine if such a project would harm fresh-water supplies in the basin and if desalination is a cost-effective method for the area.
    The second potential obstacle is whether private investment firms are willing to take a chance on the regional pipeline.
    After answering those questions— either of which could effectively end Great Basin Water's plan before one shovelful of dirt is disturbed— Saunders said utility companies and cities that could be served by the pipeline must determine how the water will be used, how much it will cost and where it would go, and possibly form an entity to oversee the plant and pipeline.
    Although Entranosa Water serves the Campbell Ranch development, which is outside the Estancia Basin, Saunders said utilities and cities served by the pipeline would have to agree to allow water to be sent to that area.
    "Terms and contracts would have to be determined," he said. "Everybody would have to be happy or nobody signs up for the project."
    The terms and contracts would be in place before the project begins. Otherwise, Saunders said, it would not be wise to spend $40 million-plus on a project from which no one wants to buy water.
    Saunders said the plan, "from day one," has been to build the regional pipeline and desalination plant with the intent to turn it over to a local entity to control and operate.
    "We never wanted to come in here and run a plant," he said.
    WaterTexas is simply a firm that helps utilities and public entities find solutions to their future water needs, he said.