SB 95 T OR C WATER LINES

Sen Crystal Diamond Brantley

Actions: [1] SCC/SHPAC/SFC-SCC [2]germane-SHPAC [4] DP-SFC

Scheduled: Not Scheduled

 Senate Bill 95 (SB 95) appropriates twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) to the Local Government Division of the Department of Finance and Administration to plan, design, construct, replace and improve water lines in Truth or Consequences in Sierra County. It declares an emergency because of the excessive amount of water lost annually. 

 Senate Bill 95 (SB 95) appropriates twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) from the General Fund (GF) to the Local Government Division (LGD) of the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) for expenditure in Fiscal Years (FY) 2024 through FY 2028 to plan, design, construct, replace and improve water lines in Truth or Consequences in Sierra County. 

It declares an emergency because of the excessive amount of water lost annually.

Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of FY 2028 reverts to the GF. 

 Water officials in Truth or Consequences estimate it would cost $150 million to overhaul or replace the deteriorating water system. Even patching up the leaks more permanently would cost $20 million, which the city says it can't afford. Some parts of the system include wood pipes dating from the 1800s.  According to Yahoo!News, the town did not receive any federal grant infrastructure monies despite submitted applications in 2021 and 2022.  
In March 2023, city employees fixed 14 broken line, 11 of which occurred on one day. Residents have seen 30-foot gushers shoot into the air because of a broken underground pipe. Water can be shut off at residents, businesses, schools and the hospital when repairs occur.
In March 2021, the Sierra County News reported that “the frequency of the water line breaks has escalated over the last 14 months, during which, all told, there were 18 water-main-break events in town and/or in Williamsburg, whose water lines are owned by T or C. Some events were actually clusters of breaks, seemingly occurring in a domino effect.
 

 SB 95 relates to SB 200.