Albuquerque advances drought resilience with $25m ASR contract, $300m reuse plant update

Albuquerque advances drought resilience with $25m ASR contract, $300m reuse plant updateFacing extreme drought across 100% of Bernalillo County, the water authority has greenlit construction on two new aquifer injection wells and revealed the preliminary price tag for a major greenfield wastewater reclamation facility.

The board approved a $25.3 million contract with TLC Company Inc., Spear D to construct two new direct injection/extraction wells (ASR-02 and ASR-03).

The ASR expansion is supported by a newly introduced $22 million loan/grant agreement with the New Mexico Finance Authority.

Staff revealed a $300 million preliminary engineer's estimate for the Bosque Water Reclamation Facility, a planned greenfield MBR plant.

The board also awarded a $4.6 million contract to NM Underground Utilities for the first phase of the Tijeras Reuse Reservoir and Pump Station.

The utility's water conservation program manager reported that 100% of the county is currently classified in extreme drought.

With 100% of Bernalillo County classified as being in extreme drought, the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) is accelerating its water resilience strategy, awarding a major aquifer storage contract and detailing the scope of a massive new reuse facility during its August 19 meeting. The board unanimously approved a $25,296,252 construction contract with TLC Company Inc., Spear D for its Drinking Water Treatment Plant Large Scale Recharge Expansion Wells project. The contract will fund the construction of two new direct injection and extraction wells, known as ASR-02 and ASR-03, at the utility's Chappelle site. According to staff, construction is expected to begin within the next two months and will take 24 to 30 months to complete. Once fully operational, the expanded Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project will have the capacity to recharge up to 9,000 acre-feet of water per year. To support the expansion, the board introduced legislation to execute a $22 million Water Project Fund agreement with the New Mexico Finance Authority, comprising an $18.7 million grant and a $3.3 million loan. In addition to the ASR expansion, the board received a significant update on the planned Bosque Water Reclamation Facility, a cornerstone of the utility's Water 2120 long-term plan. Project manager Patricia Jones revealed that the engineer's estimate for the project, based on the current 30% design, is approximately $300 million. The greenfield project will be a liquids-only treatment plant utilizing membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology. Phase 1 will construct the backbone infrastructure for an eventual 10 million gallon per day (MGD) build-out, but will initially be equipped to treat 5 MGD. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in November 2027, with an estimated duration of three and a half years. Treated effluent from the Bosque facility will initially be discharged directly into the Rio Grande to support river flows, while future phases will distribute the water for reuse at parks, schools, and industrial sites on the city's west side. The utility is currently pursuing low-interest loans through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to finance the project, with the remainder to be funded via municipal bonds. Further advancing its reuse capabilities, the board also approved a $4,608,499 contract with NM Underground Utilities, Inc. for the first bid package of the Tijeras Reuse Reservoir and Pump Station. The project will install a reuse reservoir to provide irrigation and industrial water to the Mesa del Sol development area.