WHERE DOES OUR
WATER COME
FROM? The Video
By Suzanne Michaels
You turn on the tap, and expect crisp, clear water
to be at your fingertips. But where does the water
come from? How does it get to your house?
What's actually involved in bringing up
thousands of gallons of water per minute... from
more than 1000 feet deep?
Las Cruces Utilities has produced a 7-minute
video showing exactly what's involved in drilling
the deep wells we need to sustain our
community, and we take you into the field to see
the well drilling that brings water to Las Cruces
residents and businesses.
In DO YOU KNOW.... WHERE OUR WATER
COMES FROM?, we show you the enormous drill
bit that bites through gravel/silt/sand/sediment
and clay to hit water.
We explain was a bolson actually is: Some
people picture an underground lake... nothing could farther from the truth.
We introduce you to the dirty work and
the amazing crews responsible for
tapping into the water... and what that
first fresh water from deep wells looks
like surging out of the ground.
Utilities has just completed drilling two
new deep water wells at opposite ends of
the city, beyond current housing
development. It's the first time in years
we've drilled new wells... and we
captured the process on tape so you
could see how it works.
Las Cruces is built on top of two bolsons - the Mesilla Bolson on the west near the river,
and the Jornada Bolson to the east, below the San Andres and Organ Mountains. Most
of our drinking water comes from the Mesilla Bolson - that well-known, but perhaps not
well understood water source beneath our feet. The new wells tap into both bolsons.
Even though fresh water is only 3% of
the water supply on the entire planet, we
seem to take it for granted today that
water will always be easily available to
us. You trust that when you turn on the
tap in Las Cruces, you will have water
for drinking, bathing, and washing
dishes, clothes, kids, cars, and for
irrigation of your yard. You also trust
that Las Cruces Utilities - the City
agency responsible for making sure
water will always flow to residents - is
continuing to secure our water future.
The cost for drilling the two new wells? $1.8 million. Project Manager Randy Stewart,
who has been drilling wells for 32 years, says, "Most people don't understand the
engineering and the science that goes into drilling wells for drinking water. It's a whole
different ballgame from drilling to find water for crop irrigation."
Before the construction
crews arrived, months of
planning and testing were
completed by geologists,
hydrologists, engineers,
and designers. Before the
planning and testing, it
took 20 years to get
permits lined up and
approvals and funding to
drill the wells.
You can watch the new 7minute right now: DO
YOU KNOW... WHERE OUR WATER COMES FROM? is posted on the CLC TV 20
Website. Go to www.clctv.com and click on KNOW YOUR CITY.
Or visit YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=542Xh1inghA
You can reach Las Cruces Utilities at 528-3511 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Las Cruces Utilities:
providing GAS – WATER – WASTEWATER – SOLID WASTE services for almost 100,000 Las Cruces
residents.