By Wendy Maes Vigil

Honestly? I posted so my kids would start helping me haul water in the mornings and afternoons.
It worked.

But somewhere between the humor and the honesty, something bigger happened. People who hadn’t been heard started feeling seen. The post has now been viewed 33,600 times, shared 136 times, and sparked 57 comments from neighbors, former residents, and strangers who felt it in their bones.

Like most residents of Cerro, New Mexico, I have been hauling water, rationing water, and thinking about water every single day since May 23rd—the day our entire neighborhood lost running water and life as we knew it changed.

I found that no one was really talking about what a typical day in Cerro looks like without running water. People joke and say, “Just wash your clothes in the ditch” or “Take a bath in the river.” I like jokes. But I don’t think people understood what we were living with every single day.

I never posted to attack anyone. I posted because we are residents living this every day. And I’m glad people are talking now.

What’s Happening

The Cerro Rural Municipal Domestic Water Consumer Association (CRMDWCA) has been managing a water system that was running on borrowed time. In mid-May, the water table dropped too low to pump. By May 23rd, Cerro was dry.

Since then, association president Vilma Bailón and operator Michael Montoya have been working around the clock. They have contacted county, state, and federal officials, coordinated with emergency management agencies, and overseen extensive testing. Thirty-eight water samples have been sent out, with results taking up to 25 days under state requirements. The current timeline for restored service is mid-July.

That’s nearly two months without running water.

Most recently, testing confirmed the 2008 well is connected to the old 2-inch line. While that was progress, state requirements triggered another round of draining, approvals, and testing. The leaks affecting the system have been traced to the old 2-inch line, not the newer 6-inch line.

What It Really Looks Like

Numbers and timelines don’t tell the whole story.

As I wrote in my original post:
“There is no running water. And I don’t think people understand what that actually means until you break it down. It means you can’t drink from your own tap. You can’t cook a real meal for your family. You can’t wash your dishes when dinner is done. You can’t flush your toilet without hauling water first. You can’t shower when you need to—you go when a facility is open, on somebody else’s schedule, not yours.”

One mother shared that she took her boys for a shower and had to hold back tears when they said, “Mom, that feels SO good,” because a shower had become a luxury her children celebrated out loud.

It’s elderly residents loading heavy water jugs into their cars in the New Mexico heat because there is no other option. It’s neighbors showing up with whatever containers they have—five-gallon buckets, totes, and yes, even Halloween trick-or-treat buckets—because when there’s no water, you use what you have.

As I wrote:
“Water is how we cook. Water is how we clean. Water is how we stay healthy. Water is how we care for our children and our elders. Water is the midnight bath that reminds you that you are a human being who deserves rest and comfort and a quiet moment.”

This is not a small thing. This is not a temporary inconvenience. This has become people’s daily lives. This is their dignity.

What the Community Is Doing

The surrounding community has shown up in the way Northern New Mexico always does—quietly, without fanfare, because that’s what neighbors do.

Sangre de Cristo grocery store donated five-gallon water jugs. Questa Credit Union made donations. Taos County provided water pallets. The Cerro and Questa fire departments have been filling totes for residents. Local churches opened their doors for showers and laundry. NMWARN brought in an 8,000-gallon tanker of clean drinking water at the Cerro Community Center.

Special thanks to Gidget and Mario, and to everyone who has volunteered, donated, and shown up for Cerro.
On behalf of my family, we are grateful for all the hard work Vilma and Michael have done and continue to do. Two people have been carrying an enormous burden for this entire community.

But a community should not have to survive on donated jugs and borrowed showers for two months. Not in 2026.

The Bigger Picture

Cerro is not alone. New Mexico is facing widespread drought conditions, and wells across Northern New Mexico are running dry. Communities throughout the region are facing the same challenges and the same slow-moving testing and approval processes.

Yet small towns like Cerro continue to fall through the cracks while families haul water in the New Mexico heat and wait for answers.

Community members with questions are encouraged to contact Taos County Manager Brent Jaramillo and Taos County Commissioner Miguel Romero.

What Cerro Deserves

Small towns in Northern New Mexico have always had to fight twice as hard for half the help. Cerro is no different.

But a post viewed 33,600 times and shared 136 times tells you something: people care.
We deserve running water. The people of Cerro deserve running water.

And if this isn’t being talked about loudly enough, then let’s start talking.

Cerro is not forgotten.

Not if we can help it.

Wendy Maes Vigil is a concerned citizen of the Cerro community.