eastern mountains--water? (Moriarty, Estancia: coop, appliances, home)

[zinnia829]

Where do people in the Eastern Mountains get their water from? What is the Entranosa water coop (?) and how does that work (I know that the Paa-ko development has bought into this, apparently, and that holds some appeal based on their marketing, at least). Do people have wells, shared wells? I havn't been able to find that cisterns and such are all that common, so is there much of a concern about water out that way? If we were to buy land a build a house, what are the options? Thanks!

[rybert]

Private wells are pretty common.

[jiminnm]

Is this the org you're asking about? EWWA Home Page

[MaggieBelize]

We live in the East Mountains and are on the Entranosa water co-op. I have to say that we are very pleased with their administration of water resources, their service and reasonable prices. They are very good at communicating with their customers, each month sending water conservation tips, the current system hardness rating in grains, holding community meetings, and so forth. They also provide free (or included) septic service every two years.

Entranosa relies on a system of wells, and the water is quite hard. Most people on Entranosa also have a water softening system to protect their appliances. I have to admit, we don't use it for drinking water, it just doesn't taste very good. But I think that's true of most well water.

As far as I know, anybody out here NOT on Entranosa is on a private well. Personally, I'd prefer not to have to worry about a well of my own, its maintenance & testing, and I'd rather not sit around wondering when/if it's going to run dry! So when we were house-hunting here in the East Mountains, water source was one of our first questions.

[rybert]

@OP

Do want to do any heavy irrigating?

[lisdol]

We are on Entranosa as well and I like them. There are, I think 3 others - Thunder Mtn, American (?), and Indian Hills (?).

I drink my tap water, at least 2 liters per day, and its fine to me, but we have a softener - and you really need one. We also have a filter on the fridge and everyone else in the family uses that for their water.

Many people are on private wells. I know someone on a shared well. I would not want that setup, just like I would not want to share a private road with others unless there was a binding agreement for maintenance costs and frequency.

If the private well is existing, you may need to dig deeper in the coming years. If you need to dig one, be prepared to go deep.

[zinnia829]

Rybert, not heavy irrigating, no. But we do like to grow our own food. And from a green, east coast perspective, I just don't know if it's practical out there--or how to go about it with an eye to the future, when water will be even scarcer. Surely people do garden, and there must be larger spreads and farms in the eastern mountains because I've seen some irrigation circles. And more snow, meaning, more total precip. in the east mtns? Do people ever dig ponds to catch the snow melt and dip into later in the year, or would it just evaporate away in the low humidity? How deep is the typical private well? I would assume you're at the mercy of larger organizations and cities that can afford to dig deep deep wells.

Funny, the well water I grew up with in Maryland tasted wonderful. Must be a whole different batch of minerals out there in NM. Please tell me it doesn't smell like sulfur?

[lisdol]

The circles are most likely corn and beans out in Moriarty and down to Estancia.

I have a small garden (4x4 square and 8x4 rectangle with beans, peas, peppers, zucchini and tomatoes). I assume you want something more if you are growing your own food - btw harvest around here (E Mtns) usually does not start til mid July or later. I have just started gathering and shelling peas (but my peas went in late (mid-April). I went to the Farmers Market in mid july a couple of yrs ago and all there was was eggs, honey, and a small amount of herbs and veggies. Schwebach Farms told me that in a couple of wks they would have a lot more veggies. Of course if you have a greenhouse, you could do a lot more.

Our water does not smell like sulfur, TG. I had that when we lived in South Georgia and it was so gross. The first time I took a hot shower I almost vomited. You could even taste it in fountain sodas. It also will not turn your tub brown, but it will leave a ton of hard water residue. If you wash a vehicle out here, dry it quickly or you will have spots all over it.

[rybert]

Our residential well in Moriarty (less than 100 gallons/minute) was around 250' deep. Our irrigation well was a bit deeper.

[zinnia829]

rybert--thanks for the well info.
lisdol--sounds like you're about two weeks behind us, and I thought our growing season was short, here in coastal new england (but I planted my peas pretty late as well). That said, summer crops are only now really getting going. I've given up on squash, as the mildew just takes over as the fog rolls in. I don't think I'll have to worry about that in NM.