Complaints about Aztec’s water are mounting as brownish, sometimes yellowish water, often flows from the tap. City officials were called to task by one resident at the City Commission meeting Tuesday evening.

Angie Hall, who lives on Western Avenue, along with her neighbor Leon Gallegos, attended the meeting to voice concerns about the water. Hall said she spoke with Rueben Salcido, Aztec public works director, to complain and show him the “disgusting” water she has been dealing with for the last three weeks.

Hall held up a glass of brownish water and asked the commissioners if they would like to drink that. “When I let it sit, that’s what comes out of it,” Hall said as she showed another glass containing considerable sediment.

Hall said the city purged water from her pipes and the hydrant nearby. After that, the water problem was worse for a little while because they had cracked it open and disturbed the hydrant, she said.

“Sunday, the water smelled like a swimming pool, with strong chlorine smell. And today, it's not quite that yellow, but it's still yellow,” Hall said.

Hall told the commissioners she does not have a filtration system at her home and a lot of people she has spoken to do not have one either.

The cost of secondary filtration systems and filter replacements are prohibitive for many residents.

Such systems may range in price from $150 to more than $500 depending on the level of filtration needed. Replacement filters cost anywhere from $25 to $70 and should be replaced at least every six months. Some residents said they have to replace their filters much more frequently.

“We’re paying for clean drinking water … even my dog won’t drink it,” Hall said. “I have to buy water for even my dog to drink,” she said.

Hall attended the meeting to find out what can be done about the issue, adding that her neighbor, Gallegos, and several other neighbors were also dealing with “bad water” problems.

Addressing City Manager Jeff Blackburn, Hall said, “You yourself said you’re having bad water at your house.”

Officials acknowledged the long-standing issue and discussed the scope of addressing the problem.

Mayor Mike Padilla, Sr. said, “We can’t make any decisions on the water. … We are all aware of it.” He said he had a meeting Tuesday with the city manager regarding the water issues, acknowledging that the turbidity in the water “isn’t a new thing.”

He added that he and Mayor Pro Tem Ken George pushed for a remodel of reservoir No. 1, which acts as a settlement pond before water enters the treatment plant. Padilla said the remodel will help reduce sediment in the water system and improve water quality.

Turbidity is the quality of being cloudy, opaque or thick with suspended matter. The measurement of turbidity is a key test of water quality.

“With what's coming down the river (Animas), we're trying to do everything we can,” Padilla said. “Do we have a quick fix? I leave it to the professionals.”

He thanked Hall for bringing the concern to the Commission.

Blackburn said in a phone Wednesday that samples of Hall’s water has been collected and sent out for testing, and they waiting on the results.

City of Aztec water treatment history

Aztec residents have expressed concern for the necessity of regularly flushing of their water due to sentiment build up.

According to water quality reports conducted in Aztec, Bloomfield and Farmington in 2021, Aztec’s readings are similar to surrounding areas, with a higher chlorine concentration. Aztec shows a reading of 1.9 parts per million, while Farmington at 0.9 ppm and Bloomfield at 1.36 ppm.

According to Aztec’s 2019 water report, flushing one’s system for up to two minutes is occasionally required due to material buildup in plumbing. The same report states the water treatment plant does produce high quality drinking water, but lacks control of various plumbing components that may affect it.

According to the city’s website, Aztec is currently operating on a three-water treatment plant system. The newest, built in 1996, can produce 4 million gallons per day. In addition, the city operates a 1.5 million gallon per day plant built in 1975 and a 1 million gallon per day plant built in 1964. The city is currently capable of producing 6.5 million gallons per day of drinking water.

Repairs are currently being done to two older, existing plants. All plants are monitored regularly, and readings are taken to ensure quality drinking water standards are met. However, the city does stress the need and funding for updated plumbing systems and well as updates to existing plants.

George said, “I don’t want to hear any excuses … I want it fixed. This time next year, if I have brown water, I am going to go through the roof. I’ve dealt with this for 23 years … I want it done … I don’t care what it takes. If you have an idea, you have an engineer – bring it to us. This is not 1968. This is 2023.”

George said he has been bombarded with complaints about the water through phone calls and social media.

Commissioner Jim Crowley said, “I’ve had some people discussing water with me also. I think it involves our infrastructure and things that need to be upgraded.” He said it was a “can that’s been kicked down the road” and that “we’ve had some things that have just fallen through the cracks.”

Blackburn said in a phone call that every year this issue comes up during springtime, “People will begin to irrigate, compounded with greater amounts of water breaks due to temperature changes.”

“The additional demand increases water velocity throughout the water line, thereby disturbing the mineral deposits, and that just comes down the line,” Blackburn said.

Blackburn said that the older the waterlines are, the greater the buildup. “All we can do is flush the lines more in certain areas where heavier mineral deposits are released, which creates the brown water.

Blackburn said he is relying on his expert, civil engineer Reuben Salcido, who has 23 years of experience in municipal water and waster water.

When speaking about Salcido, who has been with the city of Aztec for three months, Blackburn said, “He (Salcido) recognizes the challenge that this system needs a lot of work and is taking over the legacy of other folks.”

Blackburn explained that Aztec’s water is pumped out of the river and into a settling reservoir. It is then pumped into the water treatment plant for treatment and pumped through lines of varying age and into multiple holding tanks around town.

In order to minimize water age, tanks must be turned over, meaning that water volume must be exchanged to and from the tank by fluctuating the tank levels. The required amount of turnover varies depending on the system. A common turnover goal is three to five days, or 20% to 33% of daily fluctuation.

Tanks can have a significant localized increase in water age when they are not completely mixed, even if they are fluctuated 20% to 33%.

Often, the increased water age and associated water quality problems are specifically attributed to the inlet and outlet pipes, according to Michael Duer, license professional engineer.

In a text message, Blackburn said the city is currently completing the “Complete Meter/Encoder-Receiver Transmitter replacement,” and is replacing all damaged water cans and cleaning others, mapping all waterlines with GIS and exercising water valves and replacing as needed.

The city is in phase two and three of the Highway 173 waterline replacement project and completion of the reservoir No. 1 rehab, a $4.3 million project. They are seeking funding to begin annual replacement of waterlines, determined by need.

Blackburn said larger communities like Farmington have developed a Uniform Directional Flow program, which utilizes large equipment to flush and scour the lines without wasting water.

“The cost of this vehicle is comparable to a vactor truck (huge vacuum), and requires a minimum of two operators,” Blackburn said.