Santa Fe County Valle Vista utilities repairs finish ahead of schedule and under budget  

SANTA FE, N.M., Sept. 4, 2026—Residents of the Valle Vista and Pueblo Garcia neighborhoods can rest a little easier since Santa Fe County recently completed a utilities project that finished ahead of schedule and under budget. The improvements represent a significant investment in the continued reliability and service of the Valle Vista and Pueblo Garcia water system, which serves about 285 homes, and will help support the community for years to come. 

Earlier this year, the neighborhood experienced a water outage that lasted several days. That’s when the County Utilities division discovered the isolation valves on the underground pipes were not working properly. Isolation valves shut off water flow to a specific branch or zone without disrupting the main system. Since they weren’t working properly, the whole neighborhood water supply needed to be shut down while repairs were made.  

After this happened, the County began planning how to make upgrades to the system to help prevent future shut offs to the entire neighborhood when a leak or break in the pipes might occur again. 

The recently completed project added 16 new, fully functional isolation valves in strategic locations throughout the system. These valves will allow much smaller sections of the water system to be isolated during repairs, which minimizes the number of homes affected by planned or emergency shutdowns. The construction crews dug up to six feet deep in some places to install the valves. 

As part of the project, Santa Fe County also replaced the existing three-inch and eight-inch pressure-reducing valves that provide water to the communities. These improvements will help improve the reliability and performance of the water system serving both communities. 

The work began June 1 and was expected to take four months to complete, but construction, led by Spear D Construction, was finished on August 14, a month and a half early. The work was completed without any shutdowns to the community. The total cost invested into the project was $465,138.66.

Photo: During the recent work on utilities lines, the crew installed an isolation valve on waterlines about six feet underground. The crew installed temporary shoring walls to hold back the soil, allowing them to safely work in the trenches. 

Photo: As part of the water system upgrades, a crew member installed a pressure regulating valve using an excavator as a crane. The valve is made of iron is very heavy. 

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