DOÑA ANA COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – A water sample taken in Doña Ana County on March 15 contained levels of arsenic that exceed the federal Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL). Now, residents are being warned of the effects of drinking contaminated water, and the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority is facing a larger investigation.
The state’s Drinking Water Bureau (DWB) found the above-regulation contaminant after conducting unannounced water sampling at 10 Doña Ana County locations. The DWB says the CRRUA is ordered to comply with drinking water regulations, but the unannounced sampling is an “independent action” being taken “to assure the health and safety of residents.”
Of the 10 samples collected, nine met the standards and were below the Maximum Contaminant Level of 0.010 milligrams per liter. The results of the sampling are as follows:
2401 Airport Road in Santa Teresa – 0.0160 mg/L *Above MCL
5805 McNutt Road, Suite F, in Sunland Park – 0.0088 mg/L
5300 McNutt Road in Sunland Park – 0.0071 mg/L
5200 McNutt Road in Sunland Park – 0.0070 mg/L
5101 McNutt Road in Sunland Park – 0.0063 mg/L
5622 McNutt Road in Sunland Park – 0.0062 mg/L
1200 Futurity Drive in Sunland Park – 0.0061 mg/L
1673 McNutt Road in Sunland Park – 0.0058 mg/L
3365 McNutt Road in Sunland Park – 0.0036 mg/L
3365 McNutt Road in Sunland Park – 0.0031 mg/L
The department says arsenic enters drinking water supplies from natural deposits in the earth; it is odorless and tasteless. Symptoms of arsenic exposure include the following:
Thickening and discoloration of the skin
Stomach pain
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Numbness in hands and feet
Partial paralysis
Blindness
Earlier this month, New Mexico’s Environment Department issued over $250,000 in penalties to the CRRUA for violations of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. “This exceedance of the arsenic drinking water standard is further evidence that violations have occurred at CRRUA,” says the DWB. The department is focusing its investigation on the CRRUA’s management of its arsenic treatment systems and has reached out to the state’s Department of Justice, as well as the Office of the State Auditor, regarding “ongoing compliance issues.”
