NMED News:SANTA FE ― The New Mexico Environment Department’s Drinking Water Bureau issued a “boil water advisory” for the Yah-Ta-Hey Water & Sanitation District Water System.
NMED issued the advisory after bacteriological contamination (E. coli) was detected in repeat drinking water samples from the water system’s distribution system. NMED required Yah-Ta-Hey Water & Sanitation District Water System to notify water system consumers of this finding.
Yah-Ta-Hey Water & Sanitation District Water System is a community public water system that serves approximately 438 people and is located approximately 10 miles north of Gallup in McKinley County. This advisory only applies to the drinking water from the Yah-Ta-Hey Water & Sanitation District Water System, and does not extend to any other surrounding water systems.
Consumers of the Yah-Ta-Hey Water & Sanitation District Water System are advised to boil the water for one minute before drinking, cooking, washing fruits and vegetables, feeding a baby, brushing teeth, preparing drinks, making ice, and providing drinking water for pets.
More details about precautions can be found in the following fact sheet: https://www.env.nm.gov/dwb/Documents/Boil_NMDOHNMED_7.13.16.pdf
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 Yah-Ta-Hey Water & Sanitation District Water System will continue to test the water until no further threat of contamination remains.
For more information, contact Tanya Trujillo, Drinking Water Bureau Compliance Officer, at (505).222.9539.
