Homeowners Protest Water Monitors

Not in my front yard.

Negative voices were aplenty Tuesday night at the city’s Historic Design Review Board meeting, as a large crowd packed into City Council Chambers to protest a plan to install a remote monitoring system at the city water division’s pressure regulation valve stations.

About 16 people spoke out against the controversial system, the first phase of which calls for 25 monitors throughout the city. Each monitoring station consists of either a 20-foot wooden PNM pole or 5-foot-high steel service box and a nearby 20-foot steel pole with a smaller mechanical box.

“They’re certainly ugly,” noted board member Deborah Shapiro.

The application before the H-Board requested height exceptions for the nine stations that fall within the body’s purview because they are in historical districts. The maximum allowable heights there range from 14’6’’ to 18’2”.

Ultimately, the H-Board postponed voting on the matter, asking the city to come up with some alternative options. It also decided that a second public hearing will be held after those alternatives are made available.

“To be presented with a single solution to pressure problems is not acceptable,” H-Board member Karen Walker said.

The litany of concerns ranged from the monitors’ aesthetic value to the noise they emit, which some described as similar to a loud washing machine.

“I’m going to have a stigmatized property if they go through with this design,” said Lorin Abbey, a real estate agent with a home near one of the units. Abbey said the monitors could make homes “really, really hard to sell.”

David Goin was among those who pleaded with the city to consider alternatives. “I don’t want to be exclusive and say I’m protecting my neighborhood, but in this particular case, I am,” Goin said.

It was a lonely night for the project’s manager, Robert Jorgensen, who — as noted by H-Board member Cecilia Rios — was the only person who spoke in favor of the monitoring system.

Jorgensen said the stations will provide quicker information during emergencies and enable water pressure to be monitored continually. “Overall, our intent is to be able to monitor the water system more closely,” he said.

Several stations have already been installed at various locations throughout the city. In late August, however, the project was temporarily put on hold because of the public outcry. A public meeting soliciting input on Sept. 11 also drew significant opposition.

On Tuesday, suggestions included having the water division submit individual applications for each monitor within the historical district. Some speakers also questioned whether enough water pressure malfunctions occurred to merit the monitors, though Jorgensen said, “The potential for failure is high.” Statistically, he said, malfunctions have taken place once very few years.

Jorgensen did say the city was looking into the possibility of sharing equipment with PNM, and also noted that parts of the stations could be put underground.