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Photo courtesy of Lora Arciniega Cerro residents gather at the Cerro Community Center on June 16 to ask questions about the ongoing water outage

Water Testing Continues as Cerro Works Toward Service Restoration

Residents gathered June 16 at the Cerro Community Center to discuss the community’s ongoing water outage and efforts to restore a reliable water supply more than three weeks after Taos County declared a local emergency involving the Cerro Regional Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Association.


The county declared the emergency May 27 for approximately 80 affected households and has since worked to provide bottled water and potable water to residents impacted by the outage.


During the meeting, community members sought updates from the association’s board president and board members on water testing and a timeline for restoring service. Officials explained that water testing in New Mexico can take between three and four weeks, or up to 25 days, because of the time required to incubate biological samples, conduct chemical analyses and process results through state-certified laboratories.


Officials also said additional testing requirements are necessary because the well was originally drilled as an exploratory well.


Despite the delays, officials said progress is being made toward establishing a stable water system. Residents emphasized the need for increased communication and collaboration as efforts continue to stabilize a consistent water supply for the community.


Several locations have opened shower facilities for residents affected by the outage, including the Cerro Community Center, Living Word Ministries, the Questa Fire Department building, Freedom Church and the Questa High School gym.


Residents using the facilities are encouraged to bring their own toiletries and towels and to help keep the community spaces clean.


No timeline has been announced for the full restoration of water service, but county officials said testing and infrastructure work remain underway.


Vilma Bailón has been working with county and state officials to address issues affecting the community. She has also been in contact with state senators representing the area as efforts continue to secure a long-term solution.
Follow our social media pages for continued updates on this developing story.


At press time, no updates to water testing were available. Follow us on social media to get continued updates on this story.

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