What's the cost to raise Lake Farmington dam? Feasibility study commissioned to find out

• The plan calls for raising the height of the dam by up to 25 feet.
• That move would increase the water-storage capacity at Lake Farmington by 73%.
• City officials have been discussing the project since at least 2016.

The Farmington City Council has taken the first step in the long process of raising the height of the dam at Lake Farmington, awarding a contract to conduct a feasibility study for the project to an international engineering consulting firm.

Councilors voted unanimously during a work session on Feb. 13 to award the contract to AECOM Inc. for $4.45 million. The study is expected to be completed by February 2026.

“We’re looking forward to the outcome of that feasibility study and hope it shapes our water future here in our city,” Mayor Nate Duckett said after the vote.

Shana Reeves, the assistant city manager, said the cost of the study will be covered by a $4.45 million loan from the New Mexico Finance Authority, which will then offer a 25% loan forgiveness of that amount to the city. The city will then “bill back” $2.5 million to the San Juan Water Commission, which has awarded the city a grant for the study. The remaining $840,000 will be covered by the city’s water department, she said.

The project would allow the city to impound more water from the Animas River. Farmington is permitted to impound more river water than it does, but it lacks the capacity to store that water — an issue this project would address.

Farmington Public Works Director David Sypher has referred to the idea of raising the dam as a “generational project,” acknowledging that the time frame for raising the height of the dam is likely to take decades and perhaps may not be accomplished in his lifetime.

Nevertheless, he has said, the time to begin planning the work is now, arguing that the project represents the “lowest-hanging fruit” among the scenarios that would ensure Farmington has enough water to meet its future needs. Raising the height of the dam would be less expensive than building another reservoir, Sypher has said.

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The plan calls for raising the height of the dam by up to 25 feet, a move that would increase the water-storage capacity at Lake Farmington, which serves as the city’s primary source of potable water, by 73%. Sypher has said that would be enough to meet the city’s water demands for 348 days instead of the current 201 days.

City officials have been discussing the project since at least 2016. Sypher has said the megadrought being experienced by the American Southwest in the 21^st century has created a sense of urgency around the project in recent years that didn’t exist previously.

A 2017 study pegged the price of the project at $65 million, but Sypher has said inflation likely has raised that figure considerably. During a January 2023 presentation to the council, he estimated the cost of the project would be $100 million even if the city makes rapid progress on it.

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Only the federal government has that kind of money, Sypher has said, explaining that a congressional appropriation would be required to fund the work, which would include the involvement of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 ormeasterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.