Alamogordo POOL owners, good or bad idea (Albuquerque: house, buying)
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I currently live on the east coast and plan on moving to Alamogordo in the future. I have a pool now and am always on the lookout for properties with a pool, or room for a pool. What are the pitfalls of owning a pool on the desert. Is evaporation a major issue? Wildlife seeking water? Cooling of the water nightly due to the drop in temp overnight. Any experience/advice will be welcomed. Thanks, Sal
I currently live on the east coast and plan on moving to Alamogordo in the future. I have a pool now and am always on the lookout for properties with a pool, or room for a pool. What are the pitfalls of owning a pool on the desert. Is evaporation a major issue? Wildlife seeking water? Cooling of the water nightly due to the drop in temp overnight. Any experience/advice will be welcomed. Thanks, Sal
You asked about water in your other thread. You mentioned you wouldn't want grass to maintain but you want a swimming pool? You might want to do more research about long term water availability in Alamogordo and how costs are rising. NM is in megadrought country and that's a long term situation. Of course evaporation will be an issue. As supplies dwindle and water becomes more precious, private swimming pools aren't going to be anyone's priority. An empty pool is going to be a rather large pitfall. I'd be checking into water conservation-minded indoor or community pools instead. Better chance that you'll be able to use one long term.
Last edited by Parnassia; 10-28-2021 at 01:30 PM..
Based on where you said in the other thread you'd like to locate, I'd suggest dropping the idea of a pool if what I suspect is true.. In fact, do some research about the area when you come here to visit to see what water is available. I get the feeling city water isn't available there. And you'd seriously tax a well with a pool. In fact, what I said about water in the area may be quite different for that area. Not saying it is. I don't know. But I'd sure look into the water situation before getting too hyped-up on that area.
All of that said, I get on NextDoor for this town and I see people trying to get rid of pools. One or two said they thought they were a good idea, but changed their minds later. They didn't say why, only that they decided it wasn't such a great deal. I suspect it's the costs to maintain (water prices when it's hottest, tons of dust blowing around making the water dirty, etc) and the hard elements in the water are tough on fixtures, valves and stuff like that. The substances can also plug up drains pretty bad. I moved here in September last year, and before December I had to have 4 shutoff valves replaced and 3 drains cleaned out. I clean drains weekly now, but that doesn't help the valves. And I'm probably only buying time on drains. Most of my troubles were almost certainly on their way to being problems long before I ever bought (based on some other things the people who sold to us did and didn't do). But it's still all going to come up again no matter what we do.
Not putting down the area. I love it here. But if you're going to love or hate a place, it helps to have a good idea what to expect to start with. And I think a pool may not be a good idea even if you're living in town.
Bad. Real bad. If you are intent on flaunting your wealth you should at least keep it inside, where everyone won't be able to see the water your are consuming/wasting.
Don't know much about pools or specific pool issues in the Alamogordo climate but also don't consider it "flaunting your wealth" especially in hot Alamogordo. If well maintained, the water is changed only every 5-7 years. Friends in Albuquerque who had a pool kept a cover over it at night or when not in use to prevent debris (or critters) from floating in and so as not to have to heat their pool since it gets cool at night. This probably also reduced evaporation. It was a lot of work but they did not have kids and the husband enjoyed projects.
According to my realtor, pools are considered more of a liability in Albuquerque and make the house less desirable for resale but we also have a cooler climate. I would think that if you could find a house in Alamogordo that already had a well maintained and filled pool, that would be the way to go.
Bad. Real bad. If you are intent on flaunting your wealth you should at least keep it inside, where everyone won't be able to see the water your are consuming/wasting.
...and now we have shaming because someone has led a fiscally-responsible lifestyles.....
Bad. Real bad. If you are intent on flaunting your wealth you should at least keep it inside, where everyone won't be able to see the water your are consuming/wasting.
Thank you, you made me blush! I never considered myself as a wealthy person. But after your comment, I have to rethink my status in the world now. I currently have an above ground pool that was not too, too expensive to install. And after a few years of ownership, I have learned how to maintain the pool economically. That being said, I do try to conserve water in other ways in my life. I don't water my grass. If it turns brown, so be it. No grass for me in the desert. I take "NAVY" showers. If you don't know what that is, look it up. I wash my car at a location that uses recycled water. The USGS estimates the average water consumption in this country per person, per day is 80-100 gallons a day. That works out to 2400-3000 gallons per person, per month. I just checked my last water bill just to see where I'm at. Well, it turns out, I'm well below average! I only used 2244 gallons in a 3 person home! I decided to check a few older bills, 2992 gallons, 1494 gallons, 3740 gallons. Average would be 7200 to 9000 gallons for those same months each! Imagine that! Looking at an older Alamogordo's rate schedule, On a site that is a little older (It's all I could find) lists 11200 gallons per month use before an increase in cost. Sounds like, the city, at that time found it acceptable to use that much water a month before trying to "slow you down". You say "flaunting your wealth", you tickle my ego! Why, I'm just using all that monthly savings to pay for the pool!
As for all of the other posters who took the time to respond, Thank you for your constructive advice and comments. We do take the water situation seriously in our daily lives. And that why I asked the question. As for the pool, We shall see. Maybe I will build a huge building to enclose the pool to hide my "flaunting of wealth". I'm sure, no one will notice the building!
Nothing to thank me for. You earned the money you have - it's your right to spend it as you see fit. I'm sick and tired of the jealous have-nots in society telling others what they should be doing, rather than having the sense to learn how they did it so that they can achieve the same (or greater) success. In my experience, most "well off" folks spent many years living well below their means to get where they are today, rather than buying every new gadget that came down their path, etc. It's the "class envy" syndrome that's been encouraged by segments of our society.
On a more practical level...they make automated covers that essentially will pull a cover over the pool at water level (like a tarp), and they seem to work quite well. That would likely be the most effective and cost-efficient method. An enclosure would, in my mind, become like an oven plus likely prove difficult to keep humidity down inside.
We've had pools, but here in South Texas evaporation rates weren't nearly as much of a concern. When we built our new place, we chose not to install a pool simply because we seldom used it, and all the kids are grown and gone, so.....
the median household income in Alamogordo is 20% less than the national
20% of city residents live in poverty.
It is desert. It gets 11 or 12" of rain per year.
Pools use tens of thousands of gallons of water and considerable electricity and are expensive to maintain.
Pools in deserts are no more necessary than irrigated lawns. Both are luxury uses (some might say wasteful) of a precious commodity.
Of course we have no idea how the OP earned or managed their money, and it doesn't matter anyway. Being saint or sicario doesn't change any of the above.
At the very least OP should buy a home with an existing pool rather than building a new one. Thank you for your help in encouraging responsible and conservation oriented behaviors when you move in with the kind of money few people who have to make a living here have, from places that are very different from the deserts of southern New Mexico. IOW try to adapt to the realities of the desert you are coming to rather than vice versa.
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