Latest news with #JuanCrosby
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Sunland Park City Council creates City utility department; Funds 3 water improvement projects
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Sunland Park City Council voted unanimously to create a City utility department that Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) will transition into, and the allocation of $1.2 million to fund three water improvement projects. The utility announced on Wednesday evening, June 4, in a news release. As we've previously reported, the transition comes after Doña Ana County decided to terminate the Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) with the COSP that created CRRUA. Sunland Park considers creating its own water utility following CRRUA split 'The City Council and I are working proactively and quickly to establish the mechanisms needed for CRRUA to become a City department so that when the JPA is dissolved, CRRUA can transition into the utility department seamlessly and without service disruption,' said Sunland Park Mayor Javier Perea. According to CRRUA, the board also approved to form an internal team to handle CRRUA's transition from joint ownership to a City department and a new community coordinator position responsible in part for participating in the water and wastewater transition plan. Along with creating the City utility department, $1.2 million will be used immediately to fund three water improvement projects that will 'enhance water service to the community.' The projects are sediment removal and rehabilitation of the Anapra, Meadow Vista, and Tierra Madre water tanks, CRRUA said. 'These projects will help reduce incidents of discolored water caused by sediment buildup in the water tanks,' CRRUA executive director Juan Crosby said. 'The sediment is primarily composed of the naturally occurring minerals iron and manganese. When the sediment is disturbed by water flow, it can enter the distribution system, causing discoloration. By removing sediment from the tanks, we will help eliminate discolored water throughout the system.' 'Now that the funding is approved, CRRUA can move forward with scheduling the sediment removal that will likely occur in the fall and winter months when water demand is reduced,' Crosby said. Doña Ana County cuts ties with CRRUA after years of water quality issues 'In addition to the water tanks projects, the COSP will identify other critical water and wastewater infrastructure priorities resulting from deferred maintenance, along with funding opportunities, development agreements, and revenue streams that will address capacity improvements and expansion,' Perea said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Santa Teresa Industrial Arsenic Treatment Facility passes most recent arsenic test, CRRUA says
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Santa Teresa Industrial Arsenic Treatment Facility (STIATF) has passed its most recent arsenic test, the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) said in a press release on Wednesday, June 4. The CRRUA says the STIATF's most recent arsenic tests are at 6.9 parts per billion (ppb), which is below the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Maximum Contaminate Level (MCL) for arsenic of 10 ppb. The CRRUA says the latest result is from samples taken on Wednesday, May 21. In CRRUA's voluntary monthly arsenic tests for April, results for the STIATF were at 12 ppb. Two voluntary follow-up tests by CRRUA were 12 ppb on May 6 and 8 ppb on May 14, the utility said. The STIATF is one of four arsenic treatment facilities operated by the CRRUA. CRRUA says its four Arsenic Treatment Facilities (ATFs) are currently compliant based on the New Mexico Environment Department's Running Annual Average (RAA). 'It is a proactive process we undertake to keep our customers constantly informed about water quality,' said CRRUA Executive Director Juan Crosby. 'We post arsenic test results on the CRRUA website at and on the CRRUA Facebook page.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
CRRUA: Arsenic plant ‘slightly' above guidelines passes 2nd follow-up test
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) said it completed the second of two follow-up tests of an arsenic treatment facility (ATF) that 'slightly' exceeded the federal limit for arsenic in the utility's voluntary monthly tests for April. CRRUA follow-up test of arsenic plant 'slightly' above guidelines CRRUA provides water and wastewater services to Sunland Park and Santa Teresa. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) MCL for arsenic is 10 parts per billion (ppb). The second follow-up test results for the Santa Teresa Industrial ATF were 8 ppb, which is below the 12 ppb in the first follow-up test and the 12 ppb in the CRRUA voluntary monthly test for April, the utility said. CRRUA said results are from Eurofins Environment Testing, an independent water lab certified by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), from samples taken on May 14. CRRUA: 1 arsenic plant 'slightly' above guidelines The first follow-up test was conducted on May 6, the utility said. CRRUA voluntarily conducted the two follow-up tests at the Santa Teresa Industrial ATF as a 'self-governance measure and to assure customers that water at the facility meets government regulatory standards,' the utility said. 'This is the second straight NMED quarterly compliance test period in which all four CRRUA ATFs passed based on the RAA,' CRRUA Executive Director Juan Crosby said. 'Although the New Mexico Environment Department's (NMED) recent quarterly sample reported an arsenic level of 15 parts per billion (ppb) at the Santa Teresa Industrial ATF, which exceeds the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 10 ppb, it is important to clarify that federal and state regulations determine compliance based on the Running Annual Average (RAA) of arsenic levels, not on a single sample result,' Crosby said. 'CRRUA remains in compliance with arsenic standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and our Arsenic Treatment Facilities continue to operate as intended. We are committed to maintaining full transparency by sharing results from both regulatory samples and voluntary testing. Our priority is to ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality drinking water to our community,' Crosby added. The utility said results of NMED's second quarter 2025 arsenic tests from water samples taken May 7, confirm that based on the RAA, the Border Entry ATF (RAA 3.8 ppb,) Santa Teresa Industrial ATF (RAA 8.3 ppb,) Santa Teresa Community ATF (5.5 ppb,) and Sunland Park ATF (6.3 ppb) are NMED compliant. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
CRRUA: 1 arsenic plant ‘slightly' above guidelines
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Camino Real Regional Utility Authority said that its April testing showed two of its arsenic treatment facilities continue to be below federal limits and one was 'slightly higher,' the utility said in a news release on Friday, May 8. The Environmental Protection Agency's maximum contaminate level (MCL) for arsenic is 10 parts per billion (ppb). Test results, released by Eurofins Environment Testing, an independent water lab certified by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), showed the Sunland Park ATF at 6.2 ppb, the Santa Teresa Community ATF at 4.5 ppb and the Santa Teresa Industrial ATF at 12 ppb, the utility said. 'When we received the test results for the Santa Teresa Industrial ATF, we immediately implemented protocols and standard operating procedures (SOPs) we initiated in partnership with NMED, and adjusted treatment that lowered the arsenic level to below the MCL,' CRRUA Executive Director Juan Crosby said. 'At no time was the public health at risk. The water continues to meet NMED and EPA standards and is safe to consume.' Crosby said CRRUA also notified NMED about the test results, in accordance with standard operating procedures. Crosby said CRRUA will continue to conduct daily monitoring at all ATFs and will follow up with additional testing at the Santa Teresa Industrial ATF on May 13 and May 20, utilizing an independent, NMED-certified laboratory. Crosby said developing standard operating procedures was a priority when he was named CRRUA acting executive director in January 2024. 'Our quick response in correcting the exceedance at the Santa Teresa Industrial ATF is a direct result of the processes we enacted. I am extremely proud of the timely and proper corrective actions our team took to protect the health and safety of CRRUA customers,' Crosby said. Crosby said the voluntary monthly testing CRRUA has been conducting since February 2024 is to not only for internal monitoring purposes, but for public transparency. 'Our monthly testing is strictly voluntary,' Crosby said. 'It is a proactive process we undertake to keep our customers constantly informed about water quality. We post arsenic test results on the CRRUA website at and on the CRRUA Facebook page.' He said although the tests are conducted by an independent, NMED-certified lab, they are not for compliance purposes. Only the quarterly tests NMED conducts are for compliance, he said to explain the process further. CRRUA excluded the Border Entry ATF from its voluntary testing due to its continued meeting of federal and state requirements. The water samples used in the most recent testing were collected on April 23. As of January 2025, all four arsenic treatment facilities (ATFs) operated by CRRUA are NMED compliant, which means they were below EPA's MCL for four consecutive quarters, the utility said. So far this year, CRRUA passed NMED's first quarter arsenic test, and three-monthly voluntary tests verified by an independent laboratory. Since Jan. 24, 2024, CRRUA has passed 22 arsenic tests including four quarterly NMED tests, the utility said. Arsenic tests results are available on the CRRUA website at CRRUA said it recently achieved 94.8% compliance in correcting deficiencies identified by NMED in its 2023 survey of the utility. Of the 58 deficiencies identified, CRRUA has corrected 55, the utility said. CRRUA provides water and wastewater services to Sunland Park and Santa Teresa. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
CRRUA says it is now nearly 95% compliant in addressing state inspection
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) says it continues to make progress in addressing deficiencies identified by the New Mexico Environment Department during a 2023 survey of the utility system. CRRUA says it has now corrected 55 of the 58 deficiencies identified by NMED. That brings its compliance rate to 94.8 percent, the utility said. CRRUA initiated a Progress Checklist to track the corrections. The latest deficiencies CRRUA corrected are numbers 52 and 55, which were water storage tank inspections, the utility said. The Progress Checklist is updated as corrections are made and is available for viewing on the home page of the CRRUA website at the utility said. 'CRRUA has made tremendous progress in upgrading the utility system for the health and safety of our customers,' CRRUA Executive Director Juan Crosby said. 'These latest corrections bring us that much closer to reaching 100% compliance in addressing the deficiencies identified by NMED in its 2023 Sanitary Survey, which results in the continued delivery of safe water and improved service.' Crosby said other recent improvements include all four arsenic treatment facilities (ATFs) becoming NMED compliant based on the department's running annual average (RAA). 'We are treating water that continues to be below the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maximum contamination level (MCL) of 10 parts per billion (ppb),' Crosby said. CRRUA provides water and wastewater service to Sunland Park and Santa Teresa. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
