The City of Santa Fe Water Division is confident that we will continue to deliver safe drinking water throughout the COVID-19 pandemic because of advanced treatment processes and stringent monitoring protocols.

• Our water comes from the Rio Grande, the Upper Santa Fe River, and deep groundwater wells.

• It is possible that the Rio Grande may contain corona virus at some point during this pandemic, however our surface water treatment plants are designed to remove and inactivate viruses. Santa Fe River water treated at the Canyon Road Water Treatment Plant is from a closed watershed, and as a result is fairly pristine.

• Rio Grande water is treated by the Buckman Direct Diversion (BDD) Advanced Water Treatment Plant. BDD uses both conventional and advanced treatment processes to achieve over 99.999% removal of microbial and viral contaminants.

• According to a 2008 University of Arizona study, coronaviruses have not been found to be more resistant to water treatment than other microorganisms which are removed/inactivated by treatment plants. See https://www.wateronline.com/doc/coronavirus-and-the-water-cycle-here-is-what-treatment-professionals-need-to-know-0001 for more information.

• Santa Fe’s wells have never tested positive for microbial contaminants at the source, and well water and water from the surface water treatment plants is disinfected with chlorine prior to distribution to prevent possible contamination within the distribution system (pipes).

• All City of Santa Fe water treatment processes are continuously monitored by licensed water operators Water in the distribution system is also sampled to ensure regulated standards are met throughout the system.

• The Water Division treatment processes meet standards and regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that are more stringent than guidelines set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the quality of bottled water. In addition, EPA requirements make it easier to know what is in tap water.  https://www.ewg.org/research/your-bottled-water-worth-it/bottle-vs-tap-double-standard

• The City of Santa Fe Water Division has approximately 3 days (19 million gallons) of treated water in storage throughout the City.