Massive leak found under Valencia County fire administration building

A massive leak has left an estimated 800,000-plus gallons of water under the Valencia County Fire Department administrative building, resulting in extensive mold, structural damage and extensive soil displacement under the modular building.

At the Wednesday, Oct. 15, Valencia County Commission meeting, Valencia County Fire Chief Matt Propp told commissioners that about two weeks ago the department received its water bill from the village of Los Lunas to the tune of more than $4,000.

When a county maintenance department employee came to swap out the water heater at the building on Sept. 21, the leak in the crawl space and “an Olympic-sized pool” was discovered under the building.

“We weren’t aware of how long the leak had been going on at that point,” Propp said.

After investigating the situation, it was discovered thousands of gallons of water a day had been leaking under the building on Luna Avenue for about 21 days, releasing more than 860,000 gallons of water into the crawl space.

The fire administration building sits north of the county administration building at 444 Luna Avenue in the village of Los Lunas. The building is a modular structure built around 1965 that previously served as a courtroom for the 13th Judicial District Court before those operations were relocated in 2009.

While it’s the early stages of remediation, Propp said mold is already growing under the building, “the entire length of the building.” Engineers are assessing the structure for damage, the chief said, with some problems possibly taking up to three months to be detectable.

“Once the components dry and set, contractors are anticipating shifting of the building,” he said. “There was also significant soil displacement under the building, causing something like a sinkhole.”

Propp said he was told because the water table in the village is so high already, the water would “push into the ground and come back, and it did that for about 21 days.”

Once the leak was found and the water turned off, hazard remediation began immediately, and fans and dehumidifiers were brought in to try to stop continuing damage. The chief said the entire subfloor needs to be removed, but only after everything was cleared from the building.

“Once they open up the floor, the mold will move into the occupied spaces. They’ve now disrupted the flooring so we can’t really work in the building anymore,” the chief said. “We’ve kind of been shuffling between fire stations and other locations to work. Hopefully, the lease will be worked out fairly quickly.”

The commission authorized Valencia County Manager Jhonathan Aragon to finalize the terms of a lease agreement for nearby office space for fire administration personnel.

Once the flooring is removed and the mold addressed, the next steps will be to assess the structural integrity of the building and the erosion under the building, Propp said.

A claim has been filed with the county’s insurance, Propp said, and the representative said like a typical homeowners policy, it will cover repairs and relocation costs.

“In his eyes, this is going to be a major claim but we don’t have any additional information yet,” he said.

Commissioner Joseph Bizzell asked if the department had received any high bills prior to the most recent one, asking if there were any signs of leaks or if it was just “out of the blue.”

After the leak was discovered and the accompanying bill received, Propp said staff reviewed a year’s worth of water bills and found the monthly costs were between $140 to $150.

“There was nothing until last month. It probably started right after the start of the billing cycle,” the chief said. “The concrete used for the foundation held up well. It’s a top-notch foundation. That’s why it’s not in the parking lot. There’s no venting on the crawl space, so the water had no place to go. The hydrologist said it was just pushing into the ground because the water table is so high here.”