Waterworks Restoration Project

 The Silver City Waterworks, established in 1887, provided the Town's first municipal water supply.  Known locally as the “Rock House", the Waterworks Building is the last surviving stone building from its era in Silver City. This unique building is comprised of two parts: a one-story section that originally housed steam-powered pumps and boilers, and a two-story engineer's residence. Water was drawn from a subsurface collection gallery beneath the adjacent Silva Creek arroyo. The gallery drained to a well that was connected to a 30-foot-deep pit beneath the building. Water was pumped from the Waterworks to a reservoir on a nearby hill, and from there it flowed by gravity into town.

 The Waterworks Building is listed on both the New Mexico State Historic Register (#913) and the National Register of Historic Places (#84002950).

In 2020, Southwest New Mexico ACT entered into partnership with the Town of Silver City to actively restore the Waterworks Building and the grounds, which are adjacent to Silva Creek. The initial vision was to create a waystation for Continental Divide Trail (CDT) thru-hikers to rest for a view days. Campsites, a camping kitchen, composting toilets and solar showers are almost complete - it is anticipated that the site will be ready for campers by the Summer 2024.

The site has also expanded into an educational campus for local schools/classes to explore the history and culture of our region, and also to participate in community-led sustainability projects.

The five tenants of the Waterworks Restoration Project:

•CONNECTIVITY: CDT to the Waterworks to downtown Silver City to Grant County Five Points Communities

•EDUCATION:  Water, land, history, culture

•RESTORATION: Buildings, land, watershed

•SUSTAINABILITY: Solar-power, water harvesting, native planting, composting, natural building

•COLLABORATION: FOR our Community, BY our Community

Restoration/reclamation of the land has become a focal point of the 5-acre Waterworks grounds, which was previously the Town of Silver City’s Utilities Department site for more than 30 years. The land has been transformed, with huge support from dedicated community members and organizations, and extensive funding support from NM Tourism Department, New Mexico Clean & Beautiful grants.

The Silva Creek Nature Trail is in process - connecting the Waterworks Site to downtown Silver City, across US Highway 180. This phased urban trail is a blueprint model for community collaboration. More than 100 individuals (youth and adults) and a dozen organizations have come together to create a safe and inclusive trail system that fosters time in nature, watershed restoration and conservation efforts.

The Before and After Portfolio below demonstrates the transformative process between 2019 and 2023.

In 2002, the town of Silver City conducted a Phase 1 - Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) on the Historic Waterworks site in order to identify the current environmental conditions of the site.

aldo leopold charter school: Youth conservation Corps (YCC)

The New Mexico Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) Commission funds projects across the state that hire youth from ages 14 to 25 to implement community and conservation projects, and to be trained in a variety of job, life, career, and conservation skills.  

Grant County’s Aldo Leopold Charter School has offered YCC programming for over 15 years, with four distinctive options for students to choose from: Trails Crew, Garden Crew, Murals Crew, and Eco-monitoring Crew.  

Since 2020, the Waterworks Site has hosted Aldo YCC interns from both the Garden Crew and the Trails crew - both during the school year and also during longer summer YCC programs.  Between 2020 and 2023, the Garden Crew has logged over 3000 hours on various land restoration projects at the  Waterworks Site, and the Trails Crew has logged almost 2000 intern hours, working on the Silva Creek Nature Trail and TrailHead projects.  

The YCC Trails Crew, mentored by trail specialist Jon Bjornstadt and stone craftsman Toxtli Sanchez, have implemented the first phase of the Silva Creek Nature Trail, which will ultimately connect the Waterworks Site to Penny Park via a primitive hiking/cycling trail. The Silva Creek Trailhead was also constructed by hand, including an impressive stone amphitheater, created by dry-stacking various sized boulders and then back-filling with soil. This stone-stacking process was implemented not just to create the stabilizing walls for the trail itself, but also to create switchback terraces and stairs that stabilize the steep banks.

Additional phases of the Silva Creek Nature Trail will be co-created and implemented by the YCC Trails and Garden Crews, and will included the Silva Creek Re-Wilding Project, whereby invasive Siberian Elm trees are removed, and the banks of the creek are replanted with native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers.

To read more about YCC involvement in the Waterworks Restoration Project CLICK HERE.

YCC Trails Crew, December 2024 Amazing Teamwork!

 BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS

| 2019-2023 |

 Americorps NCCC

AmeriCorps NCCC services crews have played a vital role in restoring the Waterworks Site. NCCC crew members range in age from 18 to 25 years old. 95% of NCCC crew members had never been to New Mexico before their service round in Grant County. Four volunteer crews contributed over 7000 hours across the County between August 2020 and January 2023. Crews were supervised and trained in various skill sets by local leaders and community members, and contributed to the following Waterworks projects:

Site Cleanup in 2020 Wave-wall Construction, 2020 Camping Kitchen Build, 2021 Perimeter Fence Installation, 2021 Porch Build, 2021 Campsite Construction, 2022

Sponsorship of NCCC crews has been shared between swnmACT and other Five Points communities, including the Village of Santa Clara, the City of Bayard, and the Town of Hurley. NCCC crews have worked on multiple project sites during each service round, and the Village of Santa Clara has generously hosted NCCC crews to stay at the Armory while in Grant County. NCCC crews have also volunteered at The Commons, and on Silver City Trails and Open Space projects, including Boston Hill and San Vicente Creek.

It is envisioned that NCCC will support with other Five Points restoration projects, including the Bradley Hotel in Santa Clara, and the Union Hall in Bayard.

To read more about AmeriCorps involvement in the Waterworks Restoration Project CLICK HERE.

Community Partners / contributors

Funding supporters

Town of Silver City Freeport McMoRan American Institute of Architects, Sustainable Design Assessment Team University of New Mexico, VIVA Connects State of New Mexico, Outdoor Recreation Division, Trails+ grants (FY20, FY21, FY22) State of New Mexico, Tourism Department, NM Clean and Beautiful (FY21, FY24) Senator Ben Ray Lujan's Office - Federal Earmark Appropriation (FY22)

‘Boots on the ground’ crew

Eric Brown Stephanie Celin Christine Dalmedo Steve Shatzkin Jeff LeBlanc Ronald Hartley Martha Egnal Jon “JB” Bjornstadt

Fabulous volunteers

Rich Bigelow Jeff Cramm Zeb Clark Joshe Burke Leroy Apodaca  Steve Collie Doug Gorthy Mitch Barsh Bob Schiowitz …