New Mexico environment department and officials with the City of Las Vegas have unveiled plans for the first phase of a new water treatment plant for the city scheduled for initial construction this summer.
Drinking water issues have plagued the city’s 12,000 residents since the devastating 2022 Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon fire, as the burn scars repeatedly slough a slurry of ash and debris into the Rio Gallinas, a city source of drinking water.
In 2024, city officials received $98 million in federal funding to construct the facility. Repeated flood events in 2024 harming water quality, along with a complete water shutoff in the city in January of 2025, prompted the city to enter into a joint governmental agreement with three state agencies in hopes of fast-tracking the new system.
As part of that agreement, the state has worked for months with city officials and an engineering firm to design new filtration systems, and presented design plans at the May 13 Las Vegas City Council meeting. The first phase of construction will install filters to better remove contaminants that wash into the river during rainstorms before the water goes through sanitation and treatment.
So far, the city has replaced monitoring systems and water filtration pools to improve water quality as planning for the construction for the full water treatment plant continues, Las Vegas City Manager Robert Anaya told Source NM. The city has spent approximately $8 million on improvements and on designing the new systems.
Las Vegas Mayor David Romero told Source NM the full water treatment facility is at least three years away from completion.
“Everybody hopes that we can have it done yesterday, but we’re making sure we do it right the first time, and it’s tied to the appropriate design and compliance requirements that need to be in place to make it done right,” Romero told Source NM.
The state will continue to offer technical support for the city, Jonas Armstrong, the state environment department’s Water Protection Division director, said in a statement.
