Bosque Farms mails required notice after water arsenic exceeds federal limit

The village of Bosque Farms mailed a required public notice at the end of January after quarterly testing showed arsenic levels slightly above federal drinking water standards, village officials said. The reported running average for a sample collected in the fourth quarter of 2025 was 0.011 milligrams per liter, a figure tied to an exceedance at Well 2 that regulators flagged last year.

State records show the New Mexico Environment Department sent a formal notice that “the Bosque Farms Water Supply System exceeded the arsenic MCL at Well 2 Booster Station during the 2nd quarter of 2024.” The NMED letter instructs the public water system to notify customers within 30 days of the letter and to reissue notice every three months while the exceedance continues. The agency’s template requires that public notice be provided by hand delivery, mail delivery, posting in conspicuous locations or by “any other method reasonably calculated to reach others,” and that the notice remain posted as long as the violation persists.

Well locations and operational details are central to the water utility’s response. Well 2, located along Bosque Farms Boulevard, has shown slightly elevated arsenic levels. A village official identified only as Padilla said, “Sometimes those levels are higher and we will get a ‘soft’ violation from (new Mexico Environment Department) because we’ll be 1 ppb over.” Padilla added that the system is “doing manual blending (of water from the two wells) but it’s hard to do with limited staff. The arsenic level has been lower with blending, but Well 2 seems to always run just a hair over.” Well 1, located near the rodeo arena, “tends to be ‘right there’ at the 10 ppb limit,” Padilla said.

The village reports it has been blending water from wells 1 and 2 periodically, and that blending “has resulted in a reduction in Arsenic levels for the Village of Bosque Farms Water System below the MCL.” Village materials note samples are being sent to Eurofins Environmental Testing “to ensure accurate test results,” while also stating that Eurofins results “are not official compliance results but are used to verify blending is providing the desired result.” The public notice materials include the fragmentary village statement, “The Village of Bosque Farms have taken and submitted our Q3 & Q4 Arsenic samples” and elsewhere the phrase “we are in compliance and below the MCL.”

Health advisory language in the notice warns that “Although this is not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened,” and explains that long term exposure to arsenic above the maximum contaminant level can cause skin damage, circulatory problems and an increased risk of cancer. The notice also appears in Spanish: “Este informe contiene información importante acerca de su agua potable. Haga que alguien lo traduzca para usted, o hable con alguien que lo entienda.”

Administrative contacts for the Bosque Farms Water Supply System are listed as Michael Limon, 505-869-2357, PWSID NM3510732, PO Box 660, Peralta, NM 87402. NMED’s Drinking Water Bureau contact information appears on the regulatory notice, and the state’s letter to the village is dated August 27, 2024.

For residents, the immediate impact is continued monitoring and manual blending that aims to lower arsenic levels while the village follows NMED notification rules. The differing statements in village materials — reporting both a 0.011 mg/L measurement and that the system is “in compliance and below the MCL” — underscore that official compliance determinations depend on finalized laboratory results and running annual averages submitted to the state. Residents with questions can call Michael Limon at 505-869-2357 or look for posted updates at village offices and public postings as Bosque Farms continues testing and notification efforts.