Customers are urged to Boil Water Prior to Drinking

(Santa Fe, N.M.) –The New Mexico Environment Department's Drinking Water Bureau issued a "Boil Water Advisory" for the Mine Shaft Tavern Water System.

NMED issued the advisory on July 21, 2014 after bacteriological contamination (E. coli) was detected in four repeat monitoring samples. Total coliform was also detected in one of the required monthly drinking water samples from the system collected on July 19, 2013. NMED requires the Mine Shaft Tavern to notify water system consumers of this finding. Mine Shaft Tavern is a Non-Community water system that serves approximately 150 people and is located in Madrid, NM in Santa Fe County.

This advisory only applies to the drinking water from the Mine Shaft Tavern, and does not extend to any other surrounding water systems.

Consumers of the Mine Shaft Tavern are advised to boil the water for five minutes before drinking, cooking, dishwashing and bathing. The presence of E. coli in water indicates that the water may have been in contact with sewage or animal wastes, and could contain disease-causing organisms. Most strains of E. coli are harmless and live in the intestines of healthy humans and animals. However, a positive test for E. coli in the drinking water supply may indicate the presence of dangerous strains of E. coli or other disease-causing organisms. These types of organisms may cause severe gastrointestinal illness and, in rare cases, death. Children, the elderly and immuno-compromised individuals are at an increased risk for illness. The Mine Shaft Tavern has informed the NMED Drinking Water Bureau that they are currently using bottled water for their operations.

The NMED Drinking Water Bureau will provide technical assistance to the water system and Mine Shaft Tavern will continue to test the water until no further threat of contamination remains.
For more information, call NMED Communications Director Jim Winchester at (505) 831-8800 or Jeff Pompeo, Drinking Water Bureau Compliance Officer, at (505) 222-9590.