(Santa Fe, N.M.) –The New Mexico Environment Department's Drinking Water Bureau is lifting the "boil water advisory" for the ConocoPhillips Buckeye located in Lea County.
NMED issued the advisory on December 4, 2014 after total coliform bacteria were detected in routine sampling and bacteriological contamination (E. Coli) was detected in required repeat drinking water samples from the system. This advisory only applied to the drinking water from the Conoco Phillips Buckeye, and does not extend to any other surrounding water systems.
Consumers of the ConocoPhillips Buckeye were 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.
Subsequent samples collected from the water system were negative for bacteriological contamination. The ConocoPhillips Buckeye Water System will be required to maintain a regular monitoring schedule to test the distribution system for the presence of Total coliform & E. coli.
For more information, call NMED Communications Director Jim Winchester at (505) 827-0314 or Ray Melendrez, Drinking Water Bureau Supervisor, at (575) 647-7955.