The Town of Bernalillo has declined a $250,000 federal loan intended to fund lead and copper water pipe surveys in communities around New Mexico.
Town leaders decided not to accept the money because officials initially applied for what they believed to be grant-funded assistance but when the contract arrived, it was structured as a loan-grant fund, requiring partial repayment.
“When we read through it, we didn’t want to do the loan part of it and that’s the only way you could accept the full amount is by doing the loan and the grant,” Troy Martinez, Bernalillo public works director said. “We’re just moving forward with our existing process.”
According to a report by Source NM, the loan originated from the $28.6 million Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, funded by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The money was given by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to both the New Mexico Environment Department and the New Mexico Finance Authority (NMFA).
The NMFA approved $8.7 million, which will fund lead and copper water pipe surveys in cities and counties around the state, the money will also fund smaller water association projects.
In 2023, the EPA announced a rule designed to protect people from the long-term health effects of lead exposure in drinking water. Under this rule, water systems must provide an inventory of their lead water mains and service lines by October.
A 2023 EPA survey estimated that New Mexico has more than 15,000 lead service lines, accounting for less than 1% of the state’s total pipes. The estimated cost to replace these lines is $1.6 billion.
According to Martinez, the town has been working on the required inventory of the lead pipes and is almost finished with the documentation. The engineers have not identified anything that indicates lead pipes were ever used in the town.
“If it were to turn out that we did find pipes that had lead that is going to need to be replaced,” Martinez said. “Then at that point, we may reapply for this specific funding if we don’t have the funds to be able to do those repairs.”
Bernalillo officials issued a task order to the town’s on-call engineers to inventory the lead pipes using existing funds. According to Martinez, the town estimated the inventory to cost $60,000, but so far, it has cost just over half that amount.
Resources
If you believe you have lead pipes, the EPA offers this guidance:
- Contact your water utility to have your water tested.
- Contact your water utility or a licensed plumber to determine if the service line is made of lead.
- Before drinking, flush your home’s pipes by running the tap, taking a shower, doing laundry, or doing a load of dishes. The amount of time to run the water will depend on whether your home has a lead service line or not, and the length of the lead service line.
For more information about the health risks of lead, visit the EPA website or call the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.