Is our water safe to drink? Does our water meet EPA standards?
In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. The water supplied to our customers meets or is better than all Federal and State drinking water standards.  The EAWSD water quality monitoring program not only meets all requirements, but performs additional monitoring to assure our customers that our water is of the highest quality.  For more detailed information about your drinking water quality, go to the Water Quality Reports section of this website.

How often does EAWSD test water for contaminants?
The Safe Drinking Water Act mandates an annual test and "Consumer Confidence Report," to explain important aspects of our water such as where it comes from and the level of contaminants as compared to allowable measurements. Beyond that, EAWSD tests monthly for bacteria (total coliform and eColi) in order to ensure safety and quality. We also test when customers report taste, odor, or discolored water.

What substances do we test for?
US EPA requires routine monitoring for more than 80 regulated substances and 25 unregulated substances. Our monitoring program tests for these substances in our wells and water tanks; water sampling for the District is performed by the New Mexico Drinking Water Bureau and District staff. Labs certified by the EPA perform the tests.

What if a contaminant is found in the water?
If a sample failed to meet one of these standards, EAWSD would take immediate action to confirm the finding and correct the problem.  EAWSD would issue an alert with guidance on how to protect yourself and your family until the problem was corrected.

What is the hardness of the water?
Water hardness is a measure of the amount of minerals dissolved in the water, particularly calcium carbonate and magnesium.  Water is soft when it falls from the sky as rain.  As water travels through soil and rock it dissolves minerals with which it comes in contact.  Since we draw our water from deep wells drilled into rock formations, our water is very hard.  To many, this makes it better tasting than soft water, but it also may cause mineral deposits in coffeemakers and on glassware in a dishwasher.  Generally, our water hardness is about 250 parts per million (ppm) or milligrams per liter (mg/L).  This is also equivalent to about 15 grains per gallon (gpg).  If you wish to soften your tap water with a commercially-available water softener, the installer will want to know this water hardness level in order to properly adjust the softener.