by Caleb Fort
Daily Lobo
Paying bills - a common frustration for college students - is also a problem for UNM, city officials said.
Andrew Lieuwen, water waste supervisor for the City of Albuquerque, said UNM owes the city $14,559 for water-related costs as of Oct. 24.
He said $2,275 is for the previous month's bill. However, much of that debt is from fines the city has imposed on UNM for wasting water, he said.
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The fines result from a city ordinance that states it is illegal to waste water, or to allow it to flow onto adjacent property or public streets and sidewalks.
Mary Vosevich, director of UNM's Physical Plant Department, said the fees do not apply because the University is on state, not city, land.
Lieuwen said the city fined UNM $20 for wasting water the first time in 1995, but it is difficult to tell exactly how much of the debt is from fines because of the way bills are processed, he said.
For each additional offense, the amount of the bill increases up to $1,000, he said.
The last citation was for $1,000 on Sept. 21, he said.
Roy Robinson, general manager of City of Albuquerque's Water Utility Department, said UNM has been cited under the ordinance 31 times.
The city has cited UNM several times for allowing water to run onto Lomas Boulevard in front of UNM Hospital, he said.
Vosevich acknowledged the problem.
"We have certainly had water running into the streets on occasion," she said. "Broken irrigation heads, wind, whatever the case may be."
She said UNM does not draw most of its water from the city.
In 2004, about 2.4 percent of the water UNM used came from the city, she said, but the number rose to about 20 percent in 2005 while UNM installed new systems.
However, since May 2005, UNM has taken 0.2 percent of its water from the city because it draws most water from its own wells, Vosevich said.
According to the ordinance, the rules apply to anyone within city limits or anyone who uses water from the city.
Robinson said it is irrelevant what wells the water comes from, because the ordinance is meant to conserve groundwater for the area.
"This aquifer's water is very precious," he said. "It's still one aquifer. The issue is it's a city ordinance to protect the aquifer."
According to the ordinance, it does not apply if the wasted water is a result of "temporary water supply system failures or malfunctions." The problem must be fixed as soon as possible, according to the ordinance.
UNM works to fix broken sprinkler heads and other problems quickly, Vosevich said.
"When we know that we have had a water violation, we get out there the next morning and fix it," she said. "We're working on it all the time. We're working on improving all our systems. We can always be better."
She said UNM puts a lot of time and money into conserving water, which often goes unnoticed.
"We have a huge commitment to water conservation on this campus, and I just don't think we've publicized that very well," she said.
City and University officials will meet later this month to discuss the conflict, Vosevich said.
Robinson said he was optimistic about the outcome.
"We're going to sit down and talk about it," he said. "I think once they understand the statute they will understand that we can't afford to waste water."
UNM does an overall good job of conserving water, Robinson said.
"UNM's been a very good partner with us," he said. "They've done a lot with their landscaping in the past 10 years to make it more water efficient."
