MARFA — On Wednesday, a small group of concerned citizens from the smallest and most remote communities in Presidio County convened for a meeting of the Utility System Board, which aims to address urgent water needs in the communities of Candelaria, Redford, Ruidosa and Shafter.
When the board was formed last fall, it consisted of the county judge and commissioners, but the plan was always to appoint a member from each of the communities. Soon-to-be Precinct 1 Commissioner Deirdre Hisler will serve as chair for the board approved at yesterday’s meeting: Martha Stafford of Shafter, Bianca Tellez of Candelaria, Wikar Kadhim of Ruidosa and Charlie Angell of Redford.
Las Pampas — a dry colonia located between Presidio and Shafter — doesn’t currently have representation, though officials stressed the need to seek out a community member to participate.
Over the past few years, the majority of these communities have been plagued by outages and uncertainties. Candelaria has been hit particularly hard. In April, the town’s water operator Rosaelva Madrid passed away, leaving no one to check on the system’s well, nor to collect payments and check the fifty-odd local meters.
Shafter is also in a state of limbo. Historically, the community’s water has been provided by the nearby silver mine free of charge — but the financial troubles of parent company Aurcana Silver and the uncertainty of a potential sale have left the system in the lurch. Without an operator doing all required testing and no chlorinator, the town is under a perpetual boil-water notice, with residents questioning whether they’ll wake up one morning and not be able to turn on the tap.
The county board is distinct from the individual water corporations from each small town that make decisions about system maintenance and funding. Some are more sophisticated than others — County Judge Joe Portillo highlighted the Redford Water Corporation, which he referred to as “the most consistently run … overall, it does very well for itself.”
Redford Water Corporation Chair Charlie Angell was present at the meeting to offer tips to the other communities. There are around 50 water customers in Redford whose bills go toward the cost of routine system maintenance.
The day-to-day operation of the system is the responsibility of Hector Morales, who is perpetually on-call in case of an emergency. He and his wife also read meters and collect bills.
Angell wasn’t sure how well Redford’s template would operate in even smaller communities, such as Ruidosa. Redford, a community with quadruple Ruidosa’s meters, “barely makes a profit.” There are also two local certified operators in case something goes wrong — finding even one can be a challenge. “You have to have someone there who cares and is a long-term resident,” Angell explained.
The new county-wide group aims to meet once a month, with the goal of strengthening the individual town water corporations and applying for funding to make each community self-sufficient. Officials hope there’ll be strength in numbers. “No grant is an easy grant,” Portillo said.