Moving to Alamogordo, How's the water (Tularosa, Boles Acres: for sale, motels, mobile home) - New Mexico (NM) - City-Data Forum

prcsal · 10-25-2021, 01:53 PM

I am looking at relocating to Alamogordo and would like to hear about how the water supply is holding up. I find articles on the web about a desalination plant but nothing that says it's online/completed. If it is, has it helped? Thank you in advance, Sal

phydeaux3 · 10-26-2021, 08:36 AM

Don't know anything about the plant. I've only been here a year myself.

The water is OK. It's hard and it doesn't taste so great. I have a water softener for hot and RO for drinking and cooking. A lot of people get jugs of water from a few places that have that set up (25￠ a gallon) for drinking and cooking and use tap water for all of the rest. Some people use the water straight out of the tap for everything.

There seems to be an ample supply. At least for now. Watering is limited to 3 days a week for about half the year. Billing is in tiers, gradually rising in cost the higher your usage goes. (I didn't realize that until we got a $300-plus bill a couple months ago from really, really watering the back and front yards. Electric is the same way.) The city pulls in a lot of waste water and reuses it for watering parks, the dog park, the zoo and other areas, so there's more greenery than there might otherwise be and it gets cycled back into the ground.

When I got here last year there was some concern about the water level getting low due to lack of rain. But it didn't seem to be a huge concern at the time. Maybe something that would be a bigger problem longer term. But there's been a lot of rain this year (after I spent too much on water) and the little bit of concern I was seeing and hearing has mostly subsided. Snow, mostly in the mountains, is supposed to be an important aspect. So we'll see what happens this winter.

Funny thing. I inadvertently spent a lot of money on water here this last summer before I learned my mistake. But where I moved from - Kansas City - has plenty of water, no tiers, no seasonal adjustments, none of that, and they were promising $400-plus average billing in a few years as normal. Here it's to protect resources. There it's to cover for mismanagement of the Water Department that created an emergency with regard to drains and pipelines they let crumble for the past 20 years or more.

prcsal · 10-26-2021, 08:50 AM

Thanks for that info. I lived in that area for about 10 months, 11 years ago. Looking at retirement and just wanna make sure I don't walk into a problem. I love the area. I don't want a yard with grass to maintain, so that will save me. You have been very helpful, Thank You, Sal

phydeaux3 · 10-26-2021, 03:55 PM

I stayed for a year 35 years ago. I never gave the place another thought as far as living here. But my wife and I decided to take a few trips to look some places over to see where we wanted to live. The first trip only had 2 stops, so I suggested we head on over here so she could see where I was stationed once upon a time. I figured she'd hate it since she was accustomed to Missouri, Maine, Oregon (her favorite at the time), Mississippi and Florida. I figured we'd pull in, spend the night and then head over to Texas.

As we pulled into town she fell in love. It was that quick. When I was here before I was coming from Korea and hurrying to get back to Asia as fast as possible (spent 10 years in various places there), I was single living on base and only came to town once a month to eat. So I didn't pay close attention to the place. But once I looked around good on our fist trip, I decided I liked the mountains, I liked that it was flat area in town with the mountains right on the edge, I loved seeing the sunrise and sunset, all sorts of stuff. Of course, the place had grown and what I did remember had changed.

The other stops we planned for that trip were a waste of time. In fact, we stayed a little bit at one and drove straight through the other because we knew staying there was pointless. We both liked what we saw here and made trips twice a year to get familiar with what was where and enjoy the environment.

When we came here last year we were so committed that we didn't come find a house and worry about moving later. We moved. Sold the old house for cash, headed here the next day and started looking for a place. We weren't going back, period. We had a month in motels with 2 dogs, but we would've gone longer if necessary until we found something we liked. We weren't leaving.

prcsal · 10-27-2021, 06:22 AM

Thanks, for sharing your story. My wife and I just love the desert. I am retired Navy and like the idea of being near a military base. The mountains are great for a cool afternoon in the summer too. There is an area called Green Country south of town. Mostly mobile homes. We like the view of the mountains from there. There are some lots for sale there. Not real comfortable on developing a piece of land. Not knowing what the final cost will be and all. But like the idea of the open space and quiet location. We visited in 2019 for a few days. After the wife retires at the end of this year, we want to come out there in 2022 for a longer length of time to really learn the areas. Thanks for taking the time to comment, Sal

phydeaux3 · 10-27-2021, 07:16 AM

Ah. Down around the Boles Acres and Dog Canyon area. I'd enjoy the northern side of the highway close to the mountains. But my wife always worries waaaaaaay in advance about things and was concerned about when we get old needing to have doctors and food sources closeby. So we moved into town where we're closer to things.

prcsal · 10-27-2021, 07:24 AM

I have thought of those same issues. Have considered in town, but at the end of a street. Or a house with open space behind the house. A good view is important as well. Saw a house online in Granada Hills we liked. Looks like an area with limited traffic. I'm sure I will have a good knowledge of the city through research. But will need to see things first hand before making and decisions.

Jimbo302 · 02-10-2022, 02:53 PM

Out of curiosity, what is the monthly average water bill there?

Oregon Bill · 03-31-2022, 12:19 PM

I live in Granada Hills in Alamo. My yard is mostly gravel, with a couple of raised beds and three fruit trees and my combined water/garbage/sewer bill runs about $55 in winter, $70 or less in summer. I do have a rain barrel for the garden, which makes so much sense here with our monsoon season.
I have neither a water softener nor an RO. I don't drink a whole lot of tapwater, but some, without ill effect. I do used bottled for my coffeemaker to increase the interval between descalings.
The desalination plant is actually the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility. A vast aquifer of water underlies the Tularosa Basin, a closed drainage, but it is heavily alkaline, making Alamo an ideal location for this branch of research.
As to the area south of town, there are some nice neighborhoods and some not so nice. I used to volunteer at Oliver Lee State Park, and am quite fond of the Dog Canyon area.

prcsal · 03-31-2022, 07:22 PM

Thank you for the info, Oregon Bill. It helped me understand a couple of things I had on my mind. It sounds reasonable to me. A little more than I pay here in Virginia but not bad. Thanks for the info about the desalination plant too. Another home just came on the market in green country where we have been looking. Who knows, Thanks.