08-05-2025
CRRUA clarifies ‘misrepresented' water quality claims
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The Camino Real Regional Authority (CRRUA) is clarifying 'misrepresented claims' by Empowerment Congress that stated the utility's water is unsafe, CRRUA announced on Wednesday, May 7, in a news release.
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This comes after the Empowerment Congress held a community rally on Monday evening, May 5, in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, to 'demand safe drinking water for all CRRUA customers and consumers,' according to a news release sent by the organization.
As we previously reported, CRRUA, which provides water and wastewater service to Sunland Park and Santa Teresa, has been under fire for over a year over concerns about water quality and discolored water.
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According to the news release by Empowerment Congress, community members and advocates demanded the following from CRRUA to address the historical and ongoing public water crisis:
Demand 1: Preventative measures : CRRUA must establish preventative and protective measures when an incident occurs that impacts water quality.
Demand 2: Arsenic test strips : CRRUA must provide arsenic testing strips to all households, allowing residents to independently verify the safety of their water. These strips should be mailed directly to each home serviced by CRRUA.
Demand 3: Clean water supply : CRRUA must supply clean third-party water to residents for a minimum of six months to compensate for the contaminated water previously supplied, as well as during events and incidents where residents' water quality is impacted.
Demand 4: Rate increase moratorium : CRRUA must place a freeze on water rate increases for the next four years. This moratorium is crucial to relieve the financial burden on residents paying for unsafe water they cannot use and the cost of buying water which is safe for them to use.
Demand 5: Accessible public meetings: CRRUA must change the time of the regularly scheduled CRRUA Board meetings to 5:30 p.m. on the second Monday of each month, so as to ensure these meetings remain open and accessible to community members.
Consequently, the utility responded to these claims, saying its water is safe to consume, and that it's compliant with New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) safe drinking water standards.
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Further addressing this issue, CRRUA sent the following statements responding to every demand, according to the news release.
Demand 1 response: CRRUA conducts daily monitoring and regularly scheduled testing. If a change in treatment is needed, the adjustment is made quickly following protocols and procedures initiated by CRRUA in partnership with NMED, with follow-up monitoring and testing at an NMED-certified laboratory.
Demand 2, 3, and 4 responses: Under state law, CRRUA is unable to either provide arsenic testing strips or third-party water to residents. Doing so would result in a violation of Article IX, Section 14 of the New Mexico Constitution, otherwise referred to as the 'Anti-Donation Clause.' This constitutional provision prohibits public entities from making donations using public funds to any person, association, or public or private corporation, either directly or indirectly, with limited exceptions. CRRUA has been informed that none of the exceptions to the Anti-Donation Clause apply to providing arsenic test strips or third-party water to residents.
Also, test strips contain hazardous materials that require proper handling. They are not intended for public use. For accurate results, NMED requires designated sample points where water samples must be collected for testing purposes.
In addition, CRRUA's water quality is compliant with NMED testing for arsenic at all four arsenic treatment facilities, and CRRUA has passed 22 arsenic tests since January 2024, including NMED's quarterly tests. CRRUA makes all test results available to the public via the CRRUA website, Facebook page, and through local news media.
As such, CRRUA provides safe water to its customers as certified by both NMED and NMED-certified laboratories. Water quality information is available in the 2023 Consumer Confidence Report, released in June 2024.
Demand 5 response: Conducting morning meetings is a standard practice for government agencies and a cost-effective way of maximizing limited staff availability and resources, especially for the size of the CRRUA organization. CRRUA board meetings are available on Zoom and provide a convenient way for participants to address the board without having to physically attend meetings.
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