Free well water tests offered today in Tijeras for residents

Free water testing drew private well owners to the Tijeras Senior Center today, where state health and environment officials offered no-cost screening for the first 100 participants from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 10 Tijeras Ave. in Tijeras.

The event focused on water quality issues that matter most to households outside public water systems: pH, nitrates, arsenic and other basic indicators of whether a domestic well is safe to drink from. Officials said private well testing usually costs about $150, making the one-day clinic a rare savings for Bernalillo, Sandoval County and East Mountain area residents who rely on their own wells.

New Mexico health guidance says private wells are not regulated the same way public water systems are, so owners need to test periodically on their own. That is especially important for nitrate, which can enter groundwater from fertilizers, manure, human and animal waste, landfills, decaying plants and explosives. Health materials say high nitrate levels are a particular concern for infants and pregnant women because contaminated water can pose serious risks if it is used for drinking or formula preparation.

The screening also addressed arsenic, which state health materials describe as naturally occurring and already measured in private wells statewide at levels above recommended drinking-water standards. For households in the East Mountains, that finding can mean more than a lab report: it may require a treatment system, a different drinking source, or a closer look at whether a well should stay in service for cooking and drinking.

Private well owners were also encouraged to ask for bacteriological testing. A positive result can signal contamination that may be tied to surface runoff or waste intrusion, and it can mean immediate changes such as boiling water, disinfection, retesting and, in some cases, a filtration or treatment upgrade. Those fixes can add cost quickly, which is why a free screening can be a practical first step before problems spread to an entire household.

The New Mexico Environment Department said its water-fair outreach program typically holds about 10 events a fiscal year in rural communities across the state, a model aimed at getting testing closer to people who depend on domestic wells. A similar Tijeras testing stop in 2015 offered checks for pH, specific conductance, fluoride, iron, sulfate, nitrate and manganese, underscoring how long the East Mountain area has faced the same basic question: what is in the water coming out of the tap.