Environmental Project
How NM’s geology can make it hard for small water systems to provide safe drinking water
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New Mexico’s geology can make it hard for small water systems to meet safe drinking quality standards required by state and federal law.
Last month, the New Mexico Environment Department issued 50 notices of violation to drinking water utilities statewide. While many of them were for issues like failing to submit the proper reports or samples and do not necessarily mean the water is unsafe to drink, some of the water utilities were required to notify customers about samples exceeding maximum contaminant levels for substances like fluoride or uranium. “A lot of what you see is naturally occurring fluoride from the geological strata, same thing we see with some of the natural occurring radioactive material,” John Rhoderick, NMED’s director of the Water Protection Division, said. “It’s very common across New Mexico.”
Regionalization efforts may be key to helping small water systems remove some of these naturally occurring substances. Earlier this year, the legislature passed a law aimed at making it easier for water systems to regionalize.