8 – Water is Piped to Residents

It Takes Miles of Pipes

The Water Utility Authority provides water to approximately 570,000 people in the Albuquerque area. In order to supply water to so many people and businesses, we use about 2,500 miles of water supply pipeline. Our underground pipes range from about two inches in diameter to 72 inches in diameter (a six-foot person could just about walk inside that pipe without stooping.

In 2009, our customers each used approximately 159 gallons of water per day if you include the water they used in schools, churches, hospitals, etc. Compare that to the 252 gallons per person per day back in 1995! What happened? Conservation.

State permit requirements for the San Juan – Chama project call for our usage to be reduced to 155 gallons per person per day in 2024. However, in order to ensure that our combination of surface water and ground water will be sufficient for decades to come, we have undertaken a comprehensive conservation program whose aim is to reduce our per capital daily water use to 150 gallons by 2014. So far we are on track to meet our goal.