Troubled waters: Is New Mexico’s drinking water safe?

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – “We live in a country where clean, safe drinking water is a right. The water coming out of our taps shouldn’t be a hazard to us,” said New Mexico Water Protection Division Chief John Rhoderick. In New Mexico, that’s the hope, not the reality.

For evidence, visit a rural Santa Fe County community north of Tesuque. Once you enter the subdivision you will be in a danger zone. There are no warning signs and even some folks who live in the Pojoaque Terraces Mobile Home Park may be unaware of the peril. You see there’s something wrong with the water and the only way to detect this invisible threat is in a laboratory. Test results show Pojoaque Terraces water is contaminated with more than twice the legal limit of uranium. High levels of uranium first showed up in the water there four years ago.

Over time, uranium in drinking water can weaken the immune system and impact kidney function. “Scientific evidence shows that long-term exposure to elevated levels of naturally occurring uranium is not safe and has the potential to build up in the body,” the Environment Department’s John Rhoderick said. According to the Environmental Working Group’s Melanie Bensch, “No one should be drinking a lot of uranium in their water.”

Since 2021, Pojoaque Terraces has been slapped with a dozen EPA violation notices for failure to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act. Despite the numerous violations, the mobile home park has not installed the necessary equipment to eliminate uranium from its water supply. “As defined by the Safe Drinking Water Act (Pojoaque Terraces) is not compliant,” John Rhoderick said.

Last year, Pojoaque Terraces residents filed a lawsuit against the subdivision owners for failure to abate uranium in the domestic water supply. That litigation is pending.

And, it’s not just Pojoaque Terraces. A KRQE News 13 investigation finds unsafe drinking water in many communities across New Mexico. There are so many violations, that enforcement is nearly impossible. “What bothers me is that New Mexicans are going with water that doesn’t meet federal drinking water standards,” said Environment Department Cabinet Secretary James Kenney.

“Given the widespread noncompliance in drinking water from facilities in New Mexico, we are not equipped from a staff perspective to hold everyone accountable all at once. That’s not something we have the ability to do,” Secretary Kenney said.

“There’s really no excuse for years of noncompliance,” Environmental Working Group Vice President Melanie Bensch said. “I think it is the duty of the state environmental agency to use whatever resources they have, to make sure that people in this state have access to safe and clean drinking water. It’s a really important public health issue,” Bensch said.

For example, De La Te Mobile Manor in Mesilla Park. Over the past seven years, De La Te’s 149 residents have been drinking water contaminated with high levels of uranium. Since 2017, the Southern New Mexico subdivision has racked up 20 Safe Drinking Water Act violations. New Mexico Water Protection Division Chief John Rhoderick said De La Te has a long history of noncompliance with drinking water regulations. “Unfortunately, this is likely going to take an Administrative Compliance Order with penalties to get their attention, to get everybody to understand that we have a community where people are at risk,” Rhoderick said.

Since 2017 the Town of Springer has violated Safe Drinking Water regulations more than 50 times. Over a seven-year period, town residents have been exposed in their drinking water to a cancer-causing substance called trihalomethane. “Trihalomethanes cause cancer. They cause liver, kidney, lung cancer, and central nervous system problems. It is a well-known, carcinogen,” said Roger Williams University Environmental Engineering Professor Janet Baldwin.

Trihalomethane, which is a byproduct of the chlorination process, first turned up in Springer’s drinking water 20 years ago. John Rhoderick said Springer’s drinking water “is not safe with regard to meeting the Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.” Springer’s Public Works Director told KRQE the town is trying to correct the violations. However, he said, Springer’s remote location makes it difficult to find qualified personnel with the expertise to bring the town’s water plant into compliance with federal regulations.

Since 2011, residents of the Cassandra subdivision near Moriarity have been drinking water laden with excessive levels of radium. Over time, high levels of radium in water can lead to blood disorders and cancer. In the last decade, Cassandra has been slapped with 137 drinking water violation notices. According to Water Protection Division Chief John Rhoderick, the Torrance County subdivision has not complied with any of the violation notices. In 2018, the New Mexico Environment Department fined Cassandra $12,000 for repeated EPA violations. However, the fine remains uncollected and Cassandra’s water system is still out of compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act.

It’s the same story at Valencia County’s El Shaddai subdivision which has compiled a decade-long laundry list of 71 EPA-related violations. Because El Shaddai has failed to correct “serious deficiencies” in its water system, the rural development’s water remains out of compliance with federal drinking water regulations.

For a dozen years, drinking water from the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) in Sunland Park has been contaminated with arsenic. “Some of the health impacts associated with arsenic exposure include liver and kidney harms, lung and prostate cancers as well as liver and kidney cancers,” says the Environmental Working Group’s Melanie Bensch.

Since 2012, the Sunland Park water utility has been hit with more than 120 EPA violations, most of which have been ignored. CRRUA does have an arsenic treatment plant but sometime last year someone at the utility turned it off. John Rhoderick remembers his reaction when he first heard CRRUA was not treating its water for arsenic. “To put it bluntly, I was offended on a personal level and on a professional level that this could take place,” Rhoderick said.

The NM Environmental Department fined CRRUA $200,000 for the arsenic violations. The penalty is under appeal and a case has been referred to the Attorney General’s office. CRRUA’s Executive Director did not return phone calls for comment.

The six geographically diverse water systems identified in our investigation (Pojoaque Terraces Mobile Home Park, De La Te Mobile Manor, Town of Springer, Cassandra Subdivision, El Shaddai Subdivision, Camino Real Regional Utility Authority) have collectively accumulated 413 Safe Drinking Water Act violations. Today, none of the six public water systems are in compliance with the law.

Drinking Water Division Chief John Rhoderick admits the Environment Department’s drinking water enforcement has been inadequate. “It’s safe to say that just writing the (violation) letters has not been effective and is not effective,” Rhoderick said. KRQE News 13 asked Rhoderick to grade his division’s drinking water enforcement. “I would have to say historically up to this point, sadly, unfortunately, probably a D.”

“I give the department a failing grade for our timely and appropriate enforcement response (to drinking water violations) across the state,” Environmental Department Cabinet Secretary Kenney says. “Focusing in on those that are getting water that don’t meet drinking water standards, it shouldn’t happen in our society and in a state like New Mexico. But it absolutely does. Clearly, with years of noncompliance and us (just) issuing notices of violation and even some penalties, not getting a change in behavior, shame on us if we just continue down that same path,” Secretary Kenney said.

Secretary Kenney admits the Environment Department is faced with a lack of funding and manpower to effectively enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act. “We don’t have the resources in our drinking water program to protect all New Mexicans every day at all times, we don’t,” Secretary Kenney said.

Out of 1,100 New Mexico public water systems, about 40% fail to meet federal safe drinking water standards.

“We are putting every resource we have into (drinking water enforcement),” Secretary James Kenney said. “New Mexicans like me care about what’s coming out of the tap. So we will continue to do better. We will continue to fight for resources so we can be more productive. That’s the message that I would have for New Mexicans,” Secretary James Kenney said.

Water System Resources

• Use the EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online website to view facilities in New Mexico to assess their compliance with drinking water regulations. Click here for more information.

• Use the Environmental Working Group’s water database to see if your water is safe. Click here to enter your zipcode.

• The New Mexico Environment Department has an “Enforcement Watch” section on its website that lists locations within the state that have active drinking water violations.

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