by: Mayor Mike Davidson
Please forgive me for the long post but there is so much misinformation blazing around social media I thought it might be beneficial to give out some realistic information. Not here to debate or spar, I pay these bills too. My interest is in transparency in sharing the discoveries I have made regarding water and billing procedures.
  • Usage to 999 gallons is rounded down therefore providing up to 999 non-billed gallons of water per month per customer.
  • 1,000 gallons is 1 unit. If the bill says customer used 5 that is a ‘billing’ amount of 5,000 gallons.
  • The bill customers get is not a ‘water bill’ it is a utility bill with other services.
  • The State average increase in water/sewer bills in NM since 2011 is 93%. During that time the City of Portales increased its rates 9.3%.
  • The rate increase was implemented in 2022 to take effect in 2023 and be increased each year for 5 years. This increase would have only ‘almost’ reached the rate of inflation. Only year 1 was implemented. Reason unknown.
  • The State mandates that the enterprise fund that provides water/sewer/trash not lose money. Any general funds that have to be provided to that fund come from streets, firefighter, EMS, police and other wage provisions, parks and recreation budgets.
  • When these enterprise funds do lose money the State will restrict loans. Literally saying you don’t collect enough revenue to afford this loan. You have no way to pay it back. The City effectively gets ‘shut off’ from credit.
  • The minimum water charge covers up to 2,000 billed gallons. Because usage is rounded down, a reading up to 2,999 gallons would still fall within the minimum bill. Your bill would look like:
$22.69 – Water minimum, 0–2,000 gal
$16.95 – Sewer
$26.18 – Trash, residential inside city
$6.00 – Reuse Fee 1
$15.00 – Reuse Fee 2
$4.00 – Conservation Fee (State)
$0.09 – Water Test Fee (State)
$90.91 – Subtotal before tax
$4.55 – 5% Tax (State)
Total Monthly Bill $95.46
  • For this minimum tier customers bills (2,000 gallons) increased $15.71 for water/sewer/trash combined plus 5% tax in 3 years from 2024 to 2026.
  • The State average, and Portales average usage per household is 6,000 gallons per month. If you use up to 6,999 gallons the price increase would be $20.91 for the same services and same time frame, plus 5% tax.
  • Once you go past the 2,000 threshold customers are billed per 1,000 gallons. In 2007 that rate was $1.48.

    Until 2026 that rate was $2.45 representing an increase of .97 cents in 19 years. This is the core foundation of why Portales saw what we all know as a ‘decline’.
  • If you are experiencing an extremely high bill there are only a few reasons why this could be happening.
  • There is a leak.
  • There is a billing or reading error.
  • Customer is using, or losing, a very large amount of water on the residential side of the meter.
  • More Facts:
  • Customer are not, and cannot, be charged for water leaked on the city side of the meter, running in the street, etc. Water must go through the meter to be billed to the customer.
  • If there is a billing error the customer will be credited the money when the meter is read correctly. Most are read electronically. The city also catches many of these errors or the customer can inquire as to the anomaly.
  • Sewer rates are also billed by gallonage. A four month average, during Winter season (off peak – lowest use) determines the monthly sewer portion of the bill.
  • The rate schedule is weighted whereas low use has lower rates and high use has higher rates. Here is that 2026 rate structure after using the 2,000 gallon base amount.
3,000 to 10,999 gallons is $3.09 per 1,000 gallons
11,000 to 30,999 gallons is $8.97 per 1,000 gallons
31,000 to 100,999 gallons is $48.80 per 1,000 gallons
101,000 gallons and above is $130.47 per 1,000 gallons
A resident using 32,000 gallons of water would be billed as follows:
  • First 2,000 gallons: $22.69
  • Next 8,000 gallons: 8 × $3.09 = $24.72
  • Next 20,000 gallons: 20 × $8.97 = $179.40
  • Final 2,000 gallons: 2 × $48.80 = $97.60
Total water-only charge: $324.41
This means that even if a customer uses 32,000 gallons, they do not pay the highest rate on every gallon. Only the gallons that fall into the highest tier are billed at that highest rate.
  • Here are the amounts of water a customer would have to use to get a bill amount listed below.

    These amounts include all fees and is for water/sewer/trash but show the amount of water being used to get to that amount.

    Actual bills may slightly vary because sewer is based on the customer’s winter average, not always the current month’s water use.
$100 – 2,755 gal
$200 – 14,628 gal
$300 – 22,564 gal
$400 – 30,113 gal
$500 – 31,950 gal
$600 – 33,786 gal
$700 – 35,623 gal
$800 – 37,460 gal
$900 – 39,297 gal
$1,000 – 41,134 gal
For an example: An $800 monthly utility bill would represent approximately the same water use as six average Portales households combined.
It is my belief that the previous administrations and councils were making a statement. Our region is water stressed. If you want to use large amounts of water it will be allowed but it will be expensive.
These are conservation efforts. At present they are not ‘restrictions’ or ‘rationing’ which are levels I don’t think anyone wants to get to.