ELDORADO — They stood in line for hours, eager to cast their votes to re-elect the incumbents or unseat them from Tuesday's Eldorado Area Water and Sanitation District. Some 800 to 850 registered voters stood in lines that snaked around the interior of the Ken and Patty Adam Senior Center from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday — a huge jump from the last election four years ago, when a mere 77 people voted.

A high percentage of first-time voters was also reported.

Results, however, won't be known until later this week, said Jerry Cooper, board vice president.

"The incumbents understand the demands of a water system, while the challengers just want to save money," said Jerry Millstein, who stood in line for more than an hour and was one of the last to vote.

"You run into trouble with wanting to just save money; this system needs a plan and more money. Planning takes money," he said.

The driving forces behind the high turnout varied. About half the voters said they wanted change; others said they believed the board was doing the best it could with what it had: a water system in need of repair and more money. Christopher Wright, who was in favor of the community's purchase of the system from Amrep in 2004, said he thought borrowing an additional $3 million for capital improvements was necessary. "We inherited a neglected system. The current board members are doing their best with that," he said.

Others were in favor of change. "I spent my first summer in Eldorado last year when we had all the leaks, and I saw a lack of accountability with the current board," Linda Besett said. "I voted for change a few months ago and will be voting for change here in this community."

Lamy resident Christie Chilton said she was concerned about her garden, a resource she and her family use to supplement the grocery bill to put food on the table. "I was frustrated with the water restrictions and regulations and am sticking with the current board — I was impressed by their résumés and science backgrounds."

Another contributing factor in how people voted was how board members would get along.

Cooper was not on the ballot; his term does not end until 2011.

Incumbent board Secretary Steve Wust, board President James Jenkins, and board member Roberta Armstrong ran against Tom Willmott, Lucian Niemeyer, Jerry Bradley, William Bodle and John Hawkins in Tuesday's election. Four board members will be elected; two positions are for four-year terms and two positions are for the two years remaining from premature vacancies.

The district is a quasi-municipal entity managed by five elected volunteers. Only property owners within the district are allowed to vote; water customers residing outside the district boundaries are not permitted to vote.