Peralta one of 13 municipalities nationwide to receive Exceptional Project Award

PERALTA — The town of Peralta had no wastewater collection or treatment system, and individual homes were using aging septic systems that were not property maintained.

Many shallow domestic wells were densely located among these septic systems, which created high drinking water contamination.

To begin planning and design for the sewer system, Peralta entered into a memorandum of understanding with the neighboring village of Bosque Farms to allow Peralta to connect to its sewer system and wastewater treatment plant, as the village had the capacity to treat additional flow.

The traditional gravity sewer collection system with sewer lift stations would not work due to the shallow groundwater depth and narrow right-of-ways, so the new regional sanitary sewer collection system will use a low-pressure grinder pump system.

This low-pressure system will allow two, 6-inch diameter collection lines to be installed at a constant depth of 3- to 4-feet below finished grade. This inter-municipal agreement demonstrates cooperative planning to address significant public health concerns for local community members.

This project was financed with a $3 million loan from the New Mexico Environment Department.