Customers are urged to Boil Water Prior to Drinking
 
(Santa Fe, N.M.) –The New Mexico Environment Department’s Drinking Water Bureau has issued a “boil water advisory” for the Sunset Acres Water Company water system located approximately 2.5 miles northwest of Moriarty in Torrance County.
 
NMED issued the advisory on July 24, 2013 after bacteriological contamination (E. coli) was detected and confirmed in drinking water samples from the system. NMED requires the Sunset Acres Water Company water system to notify water consumers of their water system of this finding. Sunset Acres Water Company water system serves approximately 247 residents in area located approximately 2.5 miles northwest of Moriarty, NM in Torrance County.
 
This advisory only applies to the drinking water from the Sunset Acres Water Company Water System, and does not extend to any other surrounding water systems.
 
Consumers of the Sunset Acres Water Company water system 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 NMED Drinking Water Bureau will provide technical assistance to the water system and Sunset Acres Water Company water system will continue to test the water until no further threat of contamination remains.
 
For more information, call NMED Communications Director Jim Winchester at (505) 231-8800 or Ray Melendrez, Drinking Water Bureau Area Supervisor, at (575) 647-7955.