NEWS
Truth or Consequences restores water access
Amid repairs, water conservation and a boil order are still in place
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Residents in Truth or Consequences have running water again after two infrastructure failures crippled the town鈥檚 water system Monday.
While residents can once again turn on the tap, city officials are still asking households to conserve water as wells refill.
鈥淲hile we are making gains, we ask residents to continue being mindful of water use as the system replenishes,鈥� spokesperson Carrie Gaston wrote in a social media post Tuesday. 鈥淓ssential household water use is absolutely fine. Limiting non-essential uses for now will help the system recover more quickly.鈥�
Following advice from the New Mexico Environment Department, the town is also under a boil order, which recommends boiling all water before consumption. Gaston described the boil order as a precaution and said that officials did not expect the water to be contaminated.
However, the boil order will remain in place pending tests to verify that no contaminants entered the water supply when the system lost pressure.
City officials were alerted Monday that T or C鈥檚 well levels had crashed from at or above 20 feet to just 1 foot after a water pump failed over the weekend and a contractor accidentally broke a water main that morning. Workers repaired the pump Tuesday morning, and officials reported that the town鈥檚 water reserves are steadily refilling.
Meanwhile, after a tumultuous start to the week, schools that closed Tuesday returned to classes Wednesday.
As for when residents can fully return to normal, Gaston estimated that conservation efforts will likely continue for several days as the tanks refill.
Gillian Barkhurst is a general assignment reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.
