Executive order permits sale of water to Fawn Ridge

An executive order signed Feb. 20 by Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford authorizes the sale of Village water to the Fawn Ridge Property Owners Association, should they have need of it.

Fawn Ridge is a member of the New Mexico Mutual Domestic Water System, adjacent to the boundaries of the Village.  As such, Fawn Ridge residents can now purchase water resources "at the established rates for other customers of the Village of Ruidoso's water resources."

According to New Mexico water system detail data, the wells serve 193 residents of Fawn Ridge administered by the Fawn Ridge Property Owners Association and was established in 2008.

Joe Jarvis, water operator for Fawn Ridge, said the order was a measure executed as a precaution over concerns about production of one of Fawn Ridge's wells.

Jarvis said one of three wells which serves the 79 homes using the water system was underproducing causing some concern.

"Well production went down six gallons a minute and dropped to two gallon a minute," Jarvis said.

If it had failed, he said, it could have potentially impacted roughly 30 residences.

Jarvis said the Fawn Ridge water system was supplemented by tying into an existing well, abating any crisis for now and the need to act on the executive order.

Mayor Lynn Crawford said the Village had been working for some time on securing its water system, making major updates for a number of years in response to ageing infrastructure and persistent drought which impacted New Mexico as a whole.

The Village of Ruidoso also instituted a Phase 5 water restriction level as part of its conservation efforts, according to its website.

Under Phase 5 water lawns is prohibited unless using a private well and , vegetable plants and fruit trees must be watered by hand.

Interested in learning more about the water you drink? You can find information, including health and water testing reports, at nmtracking.org.

Jessica Onsurez can be reached at jonsurez@currentargus.com, @JussGREAT on Twitter at by phone at 575-628-5531.