This city has around 20 days of fresh water left. Officials are racing to find another source
A city in New Mexico has about 20 days of fresh water left, and officials there are scrambling to find another source to prevent cancer-causing particles from flowing out of faucets.
The hillsides around Las Vegas, New Mexico, were scorched by the state’s largest wildfire on record this spring, which burned more than 340,000 acres. Then, an unusually wet monsoon season brought significant summer rainfall — something that would typically be celebrated in the drought-stricken West, but instead has led to disaster-upon-disaster as rainfall washed the charred debris into the region’s water system.
Now, one of the city’s two reservoirs is filled with contaminated water that the current filtration system cannot handle. It’s also a health risk — when carbon reacts with high levels of chlorine used to treat water, it can become carcinogenic.
“We need to get the carbon out of the water before we add disinfection,” Las Vegas Utilities Director Maria Gilvarry told residents at a recent forum.
With time running out to secure a new clean source, city officials plan to spend this weekend testing and pre-treating the water from a nearby lake, hoping it can provide enough to keep the taps running clear.
“Our fingers are crossed on that,” Las Vegas Mayor Louie Trujillo told CNN, adding the tests “will determine the quality of water we’re going to be sending to one of our reservoirs.”
It could take multiple days to complete the tests and pretreatment to get it right; Gilvarry told CNN the key is finding the right level of chemicals that will make the water drinkable, but not too much to create carcinogenic byproducts in the supply.
If the quality of the new water source is good enough to run through the city’s water infrastructure, that will buy it a few more months of water, which officials are hoping is enough time to install another treatment system capable of processing the sediment-heavy water in their second, currently unusable reservoir. If not, city and state officials may have to implement a boil order or take other actions to ensure clean water; but it’s too early to tell what those actions may be, Gilvarry said.
It’s a particularly frustrating situation, given just how good this year’s monsoon season was.
“After the biggest fire in the state’s history, we had the best monsoon season in probably 14 years,” Trujillo told CNN. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to use any of that water that was coming down our river because it was too heavily polluted for the treatment facility that we currently have.”
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About the Author: Patriotman
Patriotman currently ekes out a survivalist lifestyle in a suburban northeastern state as best as he can. He has varied experience in political science, public policy, biological sciences, and higher education. Proudly Catholic and an Eagle Scout, he has no military experience and thus offers a relatable perspective for the average suburban prepper who is preparing for troubled times on the horizon with less than ideal teams and in less than ideal locations.
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GUNS N GEAR
Its the TRANS-formation of America. Get used to it.
“when carbon reacts with high levels of chlorine used to treat water, it can become carcinogenic.” Seems like that could be an issue everywhere that treats water considering most consumer water filtering systems are utilizing Charcoal. Would be a good time to get people into the awareness and idea of filtering and boiling water on their end, without all the chemicals in the water. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more stories similar to this with the diverted rainfall and flash flooding in many locations as well as the fires.
Umm…like plant some more like rainbow unicorn fountains in like the magic soil?
Uhh huh huh, forward, um yes we like can, uh huh huh.
I have been distilling tap water for drinking, ice cubes and cooking at home for over five years. There is no better or cheaper way to provide safe water for you and yours.
Whiskey Tango,
It is very revealing when I filter city tap water
through 2 filters inline through the refrigerator
water dispenser, then filter that water through a funnel
filled with activated carbon, and then distill
in a one gallon distiller, and when the distilling
is done there is “stuff” cruded on the bottom of
the stainless steel distiller tank.
So yes, the ppm’s (whatever that stuff is), will not be
filtered unless distilled., into a purrer H2O.
One can always add minerals etc. to the purer distilled
H2O after for drinking/cooking etc.
Not far from here. Unfortunate, but those communities have been here before there was an America, old Spanish Land Grant territory….They’ll survive this too…
Fitting it is where parts of the original Red Dawn were filmed
Check out YouTube on how to make a hand pump well…might be worth looking into
You never miss your water, until the well runs dry…
Alexa Pure water filters. Good as Berkey and somewhat less expensive.