Bandelier Historic Structure Report: CCC Buildings

UTILITIES

Through the years, Bandelier has had a hodgepodge of utility systems to support its needs. Like most small national monuments, Bandelier started out self-sufficient in utilities. The monument was so far removed from developed areas that it originally had its own water, sewer, and electrical systems. The monument staff was required to bring in heating fuels (fuel oil, butane, propane, wood, coal) from outside sources but was able to provide storage space to have enough fuel on hand to warm the buildings through the winter. By the mid-1960s the monument had tapped into the electrical power line, gas line, and water line constructed by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) along New Mexico Highway 4 (NM 4) to serve Los Alamos. By tapping into a larger utility operation, the monument lost its self-sufficiency but eased its financial and maintenance burdens and consolidated some of its own systems.

Electrical

Bandelier's electrical service began simply. Diesel generators in Bandelier's powerhouse (B-22) supplied electricity to the canyon development during the 1930s and 1940s. Although the army constructed power lines adjacent to the monument during 1944, the monument did not tie into this larger commercial system until 1948. By 1959, Bandelier was buying power from the larger system and had its own substation with three transformers to convert the large voltages down to residential capacity. At present the monument buys power from the Pan American Company, supplier to Los Alamos Laboratories. Three taps from the power lines along NM 4 feed (1) the upper housing loop and the campground (480 volts), (2) the lower housing loop (13,000 volts), and (3) the fire lookout and the canyon area (13,000 volts).

Water

Bandelier's early water system also was simple. During the 1930s, the CCC constructed a gravity-feed system with an intake diversion from the rito approximately 2 miles above the headquarters area. Two concrete reservoirs — with capacities of 10,000 and 20,000 gallons — held the water until it was piped to headquarters and then distributed to the lodge, quarters, and government facilities.

In 1964, the monument tapped into the AEC's waterline on the north side of NM 4. At present the monument buys its water, like its electricity, from the Pan American Company, supplier to Los Alamos Laboratories. The main tap just off the highway feeds a 35,000-gallon equalizing reservoir. From there, one line drops down to Juniper campground and into the Mesa housing area, and a second line follows the entrance road to the lookout tower, then drops down the canyon wall into the CCC reservoir system.

Natural Gas

The variety of fuels warming the monument's buildings first included coal, wood, liquid propane, and fuel oil. This variety proved frustrating to the monument staff through the years. The lack of consolidated systems, intermittent fuel shortages during World War II, and an inability to buy the fuels in huge bulk quantities caused maintenance and financial headaches. Finally, in 1963, the monument linked into the AEC's natural gas pipeline with an exposed line down the cliff face. From the AEC's utility corridor along NM 4, the Park Service constructed a natural gas pipeline to the mesa residential area and the vicinity of the fire lookout, where the line drops over the edge of the mesa into the canyon to the headquarters area. Today, the monument buys natural gas from the Pan American Company.

Sewer

Bandelier's early sewage disposal for the canyon consisted primarily of septic tanks. During the past 20 years the system has changed. Now two sewage lagoons serve the Mesa-Juniper area and the canyon area. A lift station with 1 mile of 3-inch force main with a 1-inch return line pumps the sewage out of the canyon for processing. The White Rock housing, Co-op, Tsankawi, and Ponderosa areas all have separate septic systems.