The US$940 million project includes a raw water intake structure, three pump stations, a 28 million gallons per day water treatment plant in Curry County and approximately 140 miles of water conveyance pipelines.
The Eastern New Mexico Rural Water System will provide up to 16,415 acre-feet per year of treated surface water from Ute Reservoir to the cities of Clovis, Portales, Texico, the town of Elida, Cannon Air Force Base and unincorporated areas in Roosevelt and Curry counties. The system will replace current groundwater withdrawals from the rapidly declining Ogallala Aquifer with a renewable surface water supply.
“Providing a renewable water supply to rural communities in a drought-afflicted region aligns with our commitment to climate response, while the opportunity to utilize our Digital OneWater data solutions will deliver added value for our project partner,” said Ron Williams, Jacobs People & Places Solutions Americas senior vice president and general manager.
Jacobs has already supported ENMWUA with earlier design work for the rural water supply system and provided on-site construction management for the raw intake structure and a portion of the water transmission line. After the project received US$160 million in funding this year from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), design will now be finalized for the remaining phases, including the water treatment plant, which will be constructed over the next five to eight years.
The project will incorporate digital tools, including Jacobs’ Replica Digital Twin, to seamlessly connect different elements of the water supply system via a centralized data hub at the treatment plant. The application of Jacobs' digital suite has already provided significant cost savings by optimizing design of the pipeline and pump stations.
