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Purple pipes carry recycled water that is perfect for irrigating green space and fighting fires, but not intended for drinking water.

"This is water conservation at its best," said Eric Lopez, as he toured the Las Cruces Utilities Water Reclamation Plant on the East Mesa of Las Cruces. "This is how we can have green space in the desert, without stressing our pure water bolson."

The Water Reclamation Plant - built to exceed state standards for reclaimed water, and meet the most stringent standards in the nation (California standards) - is where wastewater from the east side of Las Cruces is cleaned up for irrigation purposes. How much wastewater? East side commercial users, restaurants, and homes generate 260,000 gallons every day.

The water comes from sinks, showers, toilets and drains before it's pumped uphill through a series of lift stations to the water reclamation plant. Then, it goes through a sophisticated process of filtering and sterilization, is stored in the water tower covered with quail artwork and released through purple pipes to travel back underground to the Sonoma Ranch Golf Course where it is discharged into a huge pond for irrigation of the acres of bent grass greens that make up the course.

Lopez is the interim administrator of the Water Resources Section of Las Cruces Utilities. He agrees with other water experts from around the country that using purple pipe water is one of the best potable water conservation tools available.

"Sonoma Ranch Golf Course is one of our biggest customers; we sell the purple-pipe water to them - 6 million gallons of reclaimed water a month

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to irrigate the golf course," said Lopez. "This is a win-win. The reclaimed water replaces and saves the potable water from the bolson that the golf course would have been using to keep the greens ... green."

The recycled water pours out of a pipe into a 5.4-million gallon synthetically lined holding lagoon in the middle of the golf course. Golfers drive past ducks that have taken up residence on the pond, and the water itself is filled with large bright orange coy fish, which thrive in the reclaimed water.

The purple pipes that carry the recycled water now universally distinguish the water as recycled or reclaimed - perfect for irrigation and fighting fires, but not considered pure enough for drinking. The reclaimed water provides irrigation not only for the golf course, but two nearby parks - Veterans Park and Sagecrest Park - have access to the purple pipe water, which will also be available to water the green space surrounding a future high school to be built on the East Mesa.

Lopez said the plant, completed in 2009, was built with an eye to the future.

"This plant is operating at about 25 percent capacity today, but is capable of reclaiming one million gallons of wastewater every day," he said.

Recycled and reclaimed water is a smart way to preserve one of our most critical assets. And at the rate Las Cruces is growing - with an almost 20 percent population increase over the past decade - it won't be too many years before the plant is operating at full capacity.

You can reach Las Cruces Utilities at (575) 528-3511 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Utilities Connection is submitted by Suzanne Michaels, education and public outreach for Las Cruces Utilities: water, gas, wastewater and solid waste services for almost 100,000 Las Cruces residents.