The City of Deming was established in 1881 and in the early 1900's the first sewer service was installed. Parts of that original system are still in use today, 100 years later. Numerous cracks, roots and other maintenance issues prompted the City to review the existing system. Based on this review, the City of Deming has instituted a long term program to replace the aging system. The 2004 and 2005 sewer improvements included the replacement of over 20,000 linear feet of the original sewer main, replacement of the original manholes, and associated service connection replacements. The 2004 and 2005 sewer improvement projects are the first phases of a multi-year project to upgrade the old wastewater collection system and to reduce maintenance problems. The project was funded through the CDBG program together with local funds at a total construction cost of approximately $1,300,000.

San Pablo is located in the Rio Grande Valley adjacent to the municipalities of Las Cruces and Mesilla. San Pablo is designated a Colonia. Groundwater is within six to eight feet of the surface in the densely developed community. There was no collection and/or treatment system; many residences used wastewater holding tanks that had to be pumped monthly. With financial assistance from BECC, RUS, NMED, the City of Las Cruces, and Doña Ana County, Engineers Inc. developed a wastewater master plan and preliminary engineering report for San Pablo. An extensive evaluation revealed that a new treatment facility for San Pablo was not economically, or environmentally prudent. Instead, the community was connected to the Las Cruces wastewater system. The community now operates its collection system and pays a bulk rate for treatment as metered at the central lift station connecting the community to the Las Cruces System.

The connection to the City of Las Cruces included almost 10,000 feet of force-main from the vacuum station to the Las Cruces collection system. Because of high groundwater and narrow congested rights-of-way, conventional gravity sewers were not feasible. A vacuum sewer collection system is the most practical alternative for the community. Another technically and administratively challenging aspect of the project is the in-situ rehabilitation of an older sewer main within the Las Cruces system to carry San Pablo wastewater. The rehabilitation was also negotiated in the joint agreement and will be completed as part of the San Pablo project. This was a multiphase project.

This project was funded by the Governor's Tax Relief and CDBG grants. EI's responsibilities were to create a report concerning the Santa Teresa Clarifier; prepare preliminary engineering design; prepare final engineering design with plans and specs; perform bid administration and construction oversight. The original Santa Teresa wastewater treatment plant was built in the early 1970s, with a capacity of 500,000 gallons per day. Engineers Inc. was contracted to design a 1.5 million GPD clarifier.

The project also included a new influent lift station with variable speed pumps and a sludge lift station. The plant's existing clarifier was converted to an aerated sludge holding tank. The total construction cost was approximately $1,000,000.

The Village of Wagon Mound is a small community located in the north central portion of New Mexico just off of I-25 along the Old Santa Fe Trail. The Village's aged sewer collection system consisted of a variety of materials from vitrified clay to replaced sections of PVC. The manholes were of brick construction with large portions of the transmission lines passing through a seasonally high water table. Overloading at the 3-pond lined lagoon treatment plant caused concerns reported against their discharge permit. Other design improvements to the effluent land application system were required at the plant.

The most critical correction was to determine cause of system overloading. Down-hole cleaning and video of the trunk lines indicated pipe failures and sources of infiltration. Phase 1 of the project was the design of the new sewer lines and manholes to correct the infiltration issues. Phase 2 design at the plant included a tablet chlorination system, irrigation sprinkler heads, replacement of actuator valves, and sealing of manholes. A third emergency project has been added to provide a backup pump for the land application lift station.