Las Cruces residents say city delayed fixing water line break

Some Las Cruces residents tell ABC-7 the City has taken too long to fix a water line break in the northeast part of town.

“Well, I just think it’s kind of absurd,” said Leo Garcia, who has lived in the neighborhood on Cheyenne Drive, near Diamond Springs Drive for ten years.

Barnie McGinley emailed ABC-7, saying the line broke on Saturday. By Tuesday morning, it had still not been fixed.

“They can’t get a crew to address it?” McGinley asked in his email. “Nice to see our tax dollars sitting on their backsides.”

The City’s utility department ranks service calls from a ‘1’ to a ‘4,’ based on how serious the situation, said Adrienne Widmer, the water administrator for the City of Las Cruces. A major water main break flooding an intersection would likely be given a ‘1’ ranking because of the immediate need.

“They make the determination as to how it should be rated,” Widmer said.

The administrator told ABC-7the service line break on Cheyenne Drive was given a ‘1’ ranking. She said there were other pressing needs in the City that they had to address.

“It’s important to prioritize,” Widmer said.

However, she urges residents to call the utility dispatch number, operational 24/7, if there is a break.

“We always want to conserve our water, because it is a scarce commodity,” Widmer. “We want to use what we need to use, but at the same time, there’s no need for any kind of waste.”

That emergency number is 575-526-0500.