Monthly Reporting Requirements Not Met On Time by the City of Santa Fe Water System
(Este informe contiene información importante acerca de su agua potable. Haga que alguien lo traduzca para usted, o hable con alguien que lo entienda.)
The City of Santa Fe Water System (Public Water Supply System #NM3505126) violated a drinking water regulation in Calendar Year 2019. Although this is not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened, what you should do, and what we did to correct this situation.
Santa Fe is required to submit turbidity data and chlorine levels to the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) on a monthly basis. This requirement was not met for the month of June 2019 when a report originally submitted on July 9, 2019 (due on July 10th) had to be revised through ongoing communications with NMED, which lasted through July 11th. The report was subsequently resubmitted by the City on July 11, 2019, which was one day after the original due date.
What does this mean? This is not an emergency. If it had been, you would have been notified immediately. Monitoring and reporting turbidity and chlorine levels in in the City’s drinking water is important in ensuring that safe water will be provided to all of our customers. Chlorine is added to the water to inactivate bacteria and other microorganisms that may be present. Turbidity, itself, has no health effects. However, turbidity can interfere with disinfection and provide a medium for microbial growth and may indicate the presence of disease causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches. However, these symptoms are not caused only by the presence of organisms in drinking water. If you experience any of these symptoms, and they persist, you may want to seek medical advice.
The analyses performed by the City during this time-period did not indicate the presence of bacteria in the City’s drinking water system during June 2019. Rather, all analyses performed for this period, and throughout Calendar Year 2019, indicated compliance with all applicable drinking water standards for microbiological and chemical constituents.
What should I do? This was a reporting violation only. No actions are necessary on your part. All City water supplies were properly monitored for the month of June 2019, and throughout the year, and met all Safe Drinking Water Act standards. You do not need to use an alternative (e.g., bottled) water supply. However, if you have specific health concerns, please contact your health care professional.
What was done? Persons responsible for submitting the Monthly Operating Reports (MORs) have been given further instruction, and monitoring and reporting schedules have been revised, to meet all submittal deadlines on time and in a manner that provides sufficient opportunity for further revision.
When was the problem resolved? The problem was resolved on July 11, 2019. A revised MOR was submitted to NMED and demonstrated that all operating/water quality conditions were compliant.
For more information, please contact:
Jonathan Montoya at (505) 955-4373, or at:
City of Santa Fe Water System
P.O. Box 909, Santa Fe, NM 87505-0909
Note: Please share this information with other people who drink water provided by our system, especially those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments, nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.