LIQUID WASTE SUMMARY

(Flows under 2,000 gallons per day)

Permits:  Any person in the State of New Mexico who does not have access to a community sewer system must obtain a Liquid Waste Permit issued by the New Mexico Environment Department before building or transporting a home onto a property.   A permit is also required for any modification to the system or property i.e. change the disposal method, change the design flow, replace part or all of the system, or change the lot size of the property.   A permit can be obtained by completing the application form and providing the Department with the following items: floor plans, recorded warranty deed, Uniform Property Code, and a soil analysis.  A test hole may also be required if you are building in an area where it is suspected that a high water table or bedrock problems exist.   Permits may be cancelled by the Department if the system is not completed within one year or it is found that information provided in the application is false or inaccurate.  All installations must be performed by a licensed contractor i.e. MM1, MM-98, MS1, MS3.  A homeowner can also do the installation provided he/she completes the homeowner training and passes a homeowners test.   All installations must receive a final inspection by the Department before it is activated.  Any unpermitted existing systems must apply for a Certificate of Registration from the Department.

Lot Size Requirements: The lot size requirements apply to conventional systems that discharge to the soil.

A conventional system shall not be installed on a lot less than 0.75 acres where there is not an established on site disposal system, except as provided under Section 301.F.

The design flow for a conventional disposal system shall not exceed 500 gallons per acre.  Lot size X 500 = design flow allowed for that piece of property.   For lots that exceed 500 gallons per acre or lots that do not meet minimum lot size, advanced/alternative systems that reduce Total Nitrogen (TN) per Section 603 may be approved.

On-site systems installed after the effective date of the Regulations (9/1/05) on lots recorded prior to February 1, 1990 shall:  If between 0.5 and .075 acres and the depth to groundwater exceeds 101’, may be approved until Sept1, 2007.  If the lot is between 0.5 and 0.75 acres and the depth to ground water exceeds 600’ may be approved until September, 2010.

* Date of record is the date of legal recording in the county clerk’s office or for subdivision having received                      final approval date of record shall be 2 ½ years from the date of final governmental approval.

* Roadways easements cannot be included as part of the lot size.

*43,560 square feet = 1 acre

Design Flow: The design flow established for residential homes is as follows:

1 bedroom = 150 gallons per day

2 bedroom = 300 gallons per day

3 bedroom = 375 gallons per day

4 bedroom = 450 gallons per day

5 bedroom = 525 gallons per day

Any room that meets the definition of a bedroom (door which provides for privacy and a window that can be utilized as a fire escape) will be considered a bedroom and calculated into the design flow.  Bathrooms are not calculated into the design flow.

For multiple units on a property such as a duplex or guest house, the flow for each home must be added together to determine the total flow.

For commercial discharges refer to Table 201.1 of the New Mexico Liquid Waste Regulations.

Rental spaces for mobile homes will be calculated as three bedrooms.

Setback Requirements: Setback distances apply to any part of the on-site liquid waste system and its designated replacement area:

Table 302.1: Minimum setback and clearance requirements

(1) * Applies to privy pits, enclosed systems, other liquid waste treatment units.

(2) ** Plus depth of channel.

(3) *** Unlined privy pits shall provide clearance of at least 4 feet.

(4) **** Plus 2 feet for each additional foot of depth in excess of 1 foot below perforated pipe.

(5) ***** May be 5 feet when Schedule 40 PVC/DWV pipe is used.

(6) ******Or applicable plumbing code.

B. Setback distances to watercourses, canals and arroyos shall be measured from the edge of the seasonal high water flow to the on-site liquid waste system component. Setback distances to artificially controlled lakes or reservoirs shall be measured from the closest projected shoreline at the maximum controlled water level.

[20.7.3.302 NMAC - Rp, 20.7.3.303 NMAC, 9/1/05]

Clearance Requirements: 4 feet of suitable soil is required between the bottom of an absorption area and high water table or bedrock.   A reduction in this clearance may be allowed with appropriate advanced treatment or alternative disposal such as a mound system.  Holding tanks (no discharge) may be allowed in these circumstances.

Treatment Units: Conventional treatment units must be certified by the Department for use (ask for a list).   All tanks shall be watertight.  Tanks installed after 1976 must have a baffle.  All manholes on new installations must have risers to grade with secure lids.  A secure lid shall consist of the following:  A pad lock, a twist lock cover requiring special tools for removal, covers weighting 58 pounds or more, and a hinge and hasp mechanism, other mechanisms approved by NMED.  All new installations require effluent filters.  Tanks must be 2.5 times the design flow of the home.

All advanced treatment units must be approved for use by the NMED.  Ask for list. Advanced treatment units installed to meet a lot size constraint will be permitted with conditions such as maintenance contracts, monitoring of effluent etc.

Holding tanks must be 4 times the design flow of the home, be water tight, have alarm systems, and pumping records must be provided to the Department.

All installations must be installed in accordance with manufacturer’s requirements.

Absorption Field: Conventional drain fields/leach field shall be allowed in suitable soils only.  Suitable soil is determined by a ribbon test or percolation test.  Square footage required for residential units are calculated as follows:  Design Flow X 2 = Required Square Footage.  For example a one bedroom home (150 gpd) requires 300 square ft.  A two bedroom (300 gpd) requires 600 square ft.  etc.  Extremely clayey soils shall be calculated as follows: Design Flow X 5 = Required Square Footage. Soils that percolate too fast (course sand) will require secondary treatment/disinfection provided the water table is greater than 30 feet.

Trenches:   Shall be no longer that 150 ft.  Total depth to trench bottom can be no more than 6 feet.  4’ of suitable soil below the trench is required.   End caps must be placed on all distribution lines.  Capped inspection ports are to be installed at the end of each trench and brought to grade.  If more than one trench is being installed a T must be utilized.  A distribution box is required if more than two trenches are being installed. Pressure dosing shall be utilized if more than 500 linear ft of leach line is required.  Pipe/Infiltration shall be level.  Aggregate shall be ¾ in to2 ½ inch in size.  A maximum of 3 ft of aggregate is allowed below the pipe.  Trenches shall to 4 ft apart edge to edge.  For any additional ft of gravel (in excess of 1 ft) 2 ft of separation must be added.  Infiltrators must be 7 ft apart center to center.

The length of a trench for pipe and gravel can be calculated by dividing the square footage required by the credit given per sq ft/linear ft.

Trench is:        1’ wide trench              2’wide              3’wide

Gravel under pipe is:               1’                     2 credits                      3 credits          4 credits

1.5                   3 credits                      4 credits          5 credits

2                      4 credits                      5 credits          6 credits

2.5                   5 credits                      6 credits          7 credits

3                      6 credits                      7 credits

For example a trench that 2 ’wide with 2’ of gravel under the pipe requiring 750 sq ft of absorption would be calculated:  750(sq ft required)  divided by 5 (credits) = 150 linear feet of trench.

A trench that is utilizing chamber units varies in credit given per unit.  (Ask for list)  Infiltrators (High Capacity Quick 4) are awarded 19.3 sf/unit.  High Capacity 6 ft units are awarded 30 sf/unit.  Divide square footage required by 19.3 or 30 to calculate the number of units required.

It is recommended that liquid waste systems not be placed underneath roadways.

Two residences can discharge into one liquid waste system provided lot size requirements are met and the system is designed accordingly.   Well splits must be registered with the State Engineers Office (827-6120).

Liquid waste shall be disposed of on the same piece of property on which it is generated.

Grey Water Systems: Gray water with discharges less than 250 gallons per day of private residential gray water will be allowed if it can meet required conditions of the Regulations.

Split flow systems are credited with an 80 percent nitrate reduction.

Property Transfer: An inspection of the system must undergo a Transfer of Ownership inspection by a licensed installer or a NAWT certified party at time of sale.

In Conclusion: If you have further questions or concerns you may contact the Taos Field Office staff at (505) 758-8808 or our Liquid Waste Specialist at (505) 753-7256.  You may also obtain information or forms from our website:  www.nmenv.state.nm.us under the liquid waste tab.

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This post is about water rights, but I suppose the situation could crop up on any item, such as mineral rights, that the title companies will not insure in the Taos real estate market.  It’s not the fact that they will not insure these rights, as that’s understood.  However, a recently closed deal brought up a practice that flies in the face of what buyers assume they get for services from a title company.

The Taos Real Estate Title Search

When my buyer thought of a title search, he assumed that he would be provided with ALL documents related to the property that were found in the county records in the search.  NOT THE CASE!  Because they don’t want to insure water rights, the title companies will file away a document and not give it to the buyer if it pertains to water rights.  That’s even if it is a recorded deed.  This is not unique to the Taos real estate market, but you should be aware of this practice.

While it is suggested that buyers retain an attorney to transfer water rights, there was an expectation that any documents pertaining to those rights would be provided when they are found in the search.  NOT THE CASE.  Since the title company doesn’t want to increase their risk, they simply don’t provide the documents found.  Since a great many taos real estate properties do not have recorded water rights documents, this forces them to spend extra money to hire an independent searcher or an attorney to make sure that documents aren’t overlooked of filed away.  Make sure you get all of the documents related to your Taos real estate market purchase.

So, don’t assume that a title search is going to give you all documents recorded for the property’s legal description.  If there’s a puddle there, and you want to know if you have rights to the puddle, you’re going to have to hire an attorney, or at least an independent researcher in the taos real estate market.

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The best news is the 100 contaminants they didn’t find.  And, only four showed readings above health guidelines, though they did fall within legal guidelines.  Articles cited data collected by the Environmental Working Group.  Newer data isn’t available, with this quote from their site:  “The New Mexico Environment Department did not respond to requests for more recent test data. Contact your water utility for the latest water quality report.”

In helping someone to evaluate a home for purchase, it was clear that the lot was tiny, at 0.10/acre.  The good news was that the home was large, well suited to her family size, and probably could be purchased at a great price.

However, what came along with the deal would be a new septic holding tank(s), as the current system didn’t meet newer septic rules.  Though I only had one estimate of about $150/trip to pump a normal holding tank, that really didn’t help, as we needed to know how much in gallons would be consumed by the household in order to determine the number of trips/year would be required.

I found an online water consumption calculator, and entered her family’s normal water consumption patterns.  The great home will be left un-purchased, as it appeared that at least two trips/month would be necessary to pump out the holding tank(s).  Adding $300+ to her monthly costs was not in the plan, so we passed on the deal.

Try the calculator, even if you would just like to see ways in which you can reduce your consumption, holding tank or not.

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In the article Rio Grande Voices:  Bringing the Land to Life, we’re told:  “But his critical work managing the ditch was little known outside of the parciantes. That work was recognized this year with a Pablo Romero Lifetime Mayordomo Award in June from the local ditch association and a Mayordomo of the Year award in early December from the New Mexico Acequia Association.”

There’s a lot more about this man in the article, as well as historical information about the acequia.

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If we have decent snowfall, and if you have a large holding tank, you should be able to collect most of what you need if you’re frugal with the water.  There are also water haulers that can bring you a load, but I’m not sure what the cost is now.  There are rarely wells involved, as the location of many of these homes is where water is extremely deep.  Also, there just isn’t enough power from solar battery systems to run the pump required to bring up the water.

One notable exception is Cielito Lindo, where they have a community well with an extensive solar array to power the pump.  The last time I was out there, they also had a trailer that the residents could fill at the well to take the water back to their homes.

photo credit: Unhindered by Talent

1. Determined the Township/Range/Section from Latitude/Longitude
2. Used the New Mexico State Engineer Waters site to get the number of registered wells and average depth to water in FEET.
3. The selection of the coordinates was arbitrary within the area as defined by our Multiple Listing Service area breakdown. Only one survey section was chosen near the center of each area, so depths will vary outside that 640 acre section. Older wells could be retired. There can be wells not registered or errors in State Engineer database. This data is for general information only, is not warranted by this site, and should not be used to estimate any future well depths. ** ALL DEPTHS IN FEET**

Click the Area Name Link for a detail Water Column Report

          AVERAGE DEPTH OF WATER REPORT 12/27/2007
                                                 (Depth Water in Feet)   
 Bsn  Tws  Rng Sec  Zone      X        Y  Wells    Min     Max     Avg     
 RG   25N  13E 29                            13     65     280     156    
 RG   25N  13E 29   C    687700  1944800      1    255     255     255    
 RG   25N  13E 29   C    695850  1993100      1    120     120     120    
 RG   25N  13E 29   C    696200  1950800      1    104     104     104    
 RG   25N  13E 29   C    698500  1953000      1    260     260     260    
 RG   25N  13E 29   C    698500  1957850      1    240     240     240    
 RG   25N  13E 29   C    698500  1959700      1     80      80      80    
 RG   25N  13E 29   C    698800  1953200      1    240     240     240    
 RG   25N  13E 29   C    698800  1957700      1    230     230     230    
 RG   25N  13E 29   C    698850  1953250      1    226     226     226    
 RG   25N  13E 29   C    699600  1957700      1    230     230     230    
 RG   25N  13E 29   C    700000  1954300      1    255     255     255    
 RG   25N  13E 29   C    700900  1952500      1    290     290     290    
 RG   25N  13E 29   C    701500  1954500      1    220     220     220    
 RG   25N  13E 29   C    701750  1994100      1    290     290     290 

 Record Count:  27

          AVERAGE DEPTH OF WATER REPORT 12/27/2007
                                                 (Depth Water in Feet)   
 Bsn  Tws  Rng Sec  Zone      X        Y  Wells    Min     Max     Avg     
 RG   25N  12E 34                            12     63     190     128    
 RG   25N  12E 34        195713  1673815      1    130     130     130    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    672900  1948700      1    134     134     134    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    675100  1950050      1     50      50      50    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    675200  1949350      1    140     140     140    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    675500  1950500      2     42      68      55    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    676800  1949700      1     94      94      94    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    677400  1948000      1    190     190     190    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    677400  1949750      1    115     115     115    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    677500  1949400      1    105     105     105    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    677600  1947600      1    178     178     178    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    677800  1951150      1     40      40      40    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    678000  1948000      2     92     118     105    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    678000  1950000      1     77      77      77    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    678750  1948000      1    120     120     120    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    678800  1947500      1     40      40      40    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    678850  1949350      1     35      35      35    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    679000  1948000      1    160     160     160    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    679000  1952000      1    160     160     160    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    679400  1948350      1    125     125     125    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    679700  1948700      1     65      65      65    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    679865  1948060      1    118     118     118    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    680450  1948700      1    130     130     130    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    680500  1947900      1    131     131     131    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    683400  1948600      1     64      64      64    
 RG   25N  12E 34        697400  1967600      1     68      68      68    
 RG   25N  12E 34   C    181784  1947664      1    180     180     180 

 Record Count:  40

          AVERAGE DEPTH OF WATER REPORT 12/27/2007
                                                 (Depth Water in Feet)   
 Bsn  Tws  Rng Sec  Zone      X        Y  Wells    Min     Max     Avg     
 RG   22N  09E 10                            24      4      90      37    
 RG   22N  09E 10   C    579000  1877500      1     30      30      30    
 RG   22N  09E 10   C    579900  1875800      1     10      10      10    
 RG   22N  09E 10   C    581100  1877400      1      8       8       8    
 RG   22N  09E 10   C    581300  1873450      1     10      10      10 

 Record Count:  28