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How will new growth in the metro area pay for the water it will need?

The answer will be on display tonight (June 20), in the form of an agreement between developer SunCal and the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority.

The agreement, which serves a 4,000-acre tract between I-40 and Petroglyph National Monument, includes surcharges to cover the cost of buying water rights, said Mark Sanchez, the utility's executive director. As the development progresses, that will represent more than $21 million, he added.

The charges will be levied on a per building basis and are calculated with the size of the water meter in mind. For homes, that will translate into $1,250, but major manufacturing facilities and large hotels would pay something closer to $66,000, Sanchez said.

"I think it's just a common sense way of doing business for the community overall," Sanchez said. "It allows for necessary and orderly growth of the community, but not at the expense of existing ratepayers."

The developer, meanwhile, is going along with the plan, which is on the water authority's agenda tonight.

"We've been working very closely with the water authority to come up with a development agreement," said Will Steadman, the president of SunCal's New Mexico division. "We're pleased. We think it's a good document, a fair document."

The harmony stands in contrast to the situation with another mammoth developer, Mesa del Sol, which may be on the hook for water charges worth $48 million.

The utility and Mesa del Sol each assert the other is responsible for providing water to the development south of Albuquerque International Sunport, citing the same 1993 agreement.

Sanchez said he talks with Mesa del Sol Chief Operating Officer Mike Daly every other week or so, and that the developer has come around to the idea of paying for water.

"The only way they're going to get water and sewer service is to agree with that," Sanchez said. "Conceptually, I think we're close."

Daly didn't return phone calls seeking comment.