ENVIRONMENT
Village of Angel Fire declares 'drought emergency'
Mayor pro tem enacts water restrictions on private citizens, restaurants, bars and short-term rental owners
Published
Modified
The largest village in the sparsely populated high mountain valley east of Taos is enacting a series of water conservation measures after officials declared a 鈥渄rought emergency鈥� on Monday.
The village of Angel Fire cited water shortages driven by 鈥渁 long and continued period of unusually dry weather, abnormally low stream flows, and reduced groundwater levels.鈥�
About 1,200 people live in Angel Fire, which is located in the heart of the Moreno Valley in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains.
Outdoor watering under the order is limited to twice per week, restaurants and bars may only offer water to patrons upon request and short-term rental owners must post signage notifying guests to conserve water.
Failure to comply can result in fines of up to $500 per day, the notice warns.
Angel Fire鈥檚 declaration comes a week after the town of Taos discovered a leak in one of its municipal water storage tanks and a glitch in an automated system that had caused water levels to drop to critical levels.
Much of Cerro, near Questa in northern Taos County, has been without water since a water pump failed in May.
All of northern New Mexico remains in , and forecasters are warning that parts of the state this week could experience record high temperatures.
John Miller is the Journal鈥檚 northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.
