May 29—PECOS — After years of being plagued with deteriorating water lines, the village of Pecos has collected millions of dollars to replace its half-century-old pipes.

State officials and the Pecos mayor held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday in the village to cheer the long-awaited start of a project to overhaul the aging pipes, which haven’t functioned reliably in years.

About $1.75 million will cover the first of the project’s three phases, which will begin immediately and is scheduled to be finished within 120 days.

The pipes have become damaged and rusted over time as the protective galvanized coating has worn out, resulting in frequent leaks and breaks.

This groundbreaking represents a decade-long effort to secure the funding to ensure the village has an adequate and clean water supply into the future, Mayor Telesfor “Ted” Benavidez said.

“The completion of this project will set the stage for a more resilient and vibrant Pecos,” Benevides said, standing in front of a dirt lot where the first underground pipes will be replaced. “For too long, we have been at the mercy of an aging system that threatens the health and safety of our community.”

In all, the village has received $6.25 million to replace water lines from the New Mexico Finance Authority, the state Department of Finance and Administration, the Legislature and the Governor’s Office.

A prime example of Pecos’ infrastructure ills was in early 2020, when the village suffered four water main breaks in one weekend, leaving 200 residents without water and prompting an advisory to boil water at least a minute before drinking, cooking or cleaning.

The faulty pipes now are causing repeated problems in this village of about 1,300 residents.

“It’s gotten where there are constant breaks all the time,” said Jaclyn Apodaca, a spokeswoman for Pecos on the project. “We have even the mayor and local officials going out to fix water pipes themselves on a daily basis.”

The upgrades will improve the delivery of water for drinking, commercial use and fire suppression, Apodaca said.

The first phase will cover the heart of Pecos, replacing pipes along a three-quarter-mile stretch from the core area to Royal Oak Ranch Road.

“This community has worked on this for many, many years,” said state Sen. Liz Stefanics, D-Cerrillos. “We’re a little bit behind on the project. We were hoping it would be closer to finished, but we’re starting.”

Apodaca said the collective funding should pay for the bulk of the work that will be done in all three phases, but added it’s always hard to know, as construction costs continue to rise, whether money might fall a little short.

“We’ll do the best we can with the funding we have, but we’re always applying for more,” she said.

Rebecca Roose, the governor’s infrastructure adviser, commended the community’s perseverance in pursuing the funds to fix the nagging water delivery problems.

“We wish it was easy and that we all had a magic wand to wave around and make our infrastructure dreams a reality,” Roose said. “The fact is, it takes a lot of work.”