PlainWater
States → New Mexico

Community Water System · PWS NM3515029

El Prado Water & Sanitation District

El Prado, New Mexico 87529 - drinking water served from groundwater sources to 1,076 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

1,076
People served
88
EPA violations
40
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 88 drinking-water violations at El Prado Water & Sanitation District, 45% of them health-based - below the New Mexico per-system average.

88
Total EPA violations on record
45%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
1,076
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: El Prado Water & Sanitation District

El Prado Water & Sanitation District is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 1,076 residents in El Prado, New Mexico (Taos County) through 422 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 88 total violations for this system , of which 40 (45%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 40 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2020.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Coliform (TCR), recorded in 31 violations (MCL, health-based). This system has not yet been sampled under EPA's UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program, so no PFAS detection data is available here.

Across New Mexico, EPA tracks 1,037 public water systems serving 2,027,497 people, with 154,522 cumulative violations and 38,650 health-based violations on record. About 97% of systems in the state carry at least one violation, and state-wide the average per system is 149 violations. Statewide, 70 of 72 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (97.2%).

El Prado Water & Sanitation District's 88 violations sit below the New Mexico average.

All figures above are sourced directly from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 public data releases and are updated as EPA publishes new reporting cycles.

Population Served
1,076
Total Violations
88
Health-Based Violations
40
Water Source
Groundwater

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
422
County
Taos
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
31
Monitoring Violations
40
Treatment Tech Violations
9

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Coliform (TCR) MCL 31 2008
Coliform (TCR) MR 12 2001
Groundwater Rule TT 9 2014
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) MR 8 2014
TTHM MR 8 2014
Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 4 2016
Chlorine MR 4 2016
Lead and Copper Rule MR 4 2010
Public Notice Other 2 2020
Consumer Confidence Rule Other 1 1999
Coliform (TCR) Other 1 1996

Verify This Water System

The figures above are aggregated from EPA's public databases. To verify the underlying records, or to file a complaint, request a Consumer Confidence Report, or check current monitoring status, go directly to the federal and state regulators that enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act for El Prado Water & Sanitation District.

Federal Source of Truth

EPA SDWIS, Federal Reports

EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) holds the federal compliance record for every regulated public water system. Open the system-level report by PWS ID:

View PWS ID NM3515029 on SDWIS

Source: EPA SDWIS Federal Reports Search

State Regulator

New Mexico Drinking Water Authority

New Mexico's primacy agency administers the Safe Drinking Water Act locally. Search EPA SDWIS for the current state contact, or use the state's public health or environment department portal.

Find NM regulator via EPA SDWIS

Violation Timeline

Each row links to the EPA SDWIS public record for verification. Cross-reference the contaminant code on EPA's federal report to see violation dates, return-to-compliance status, and enforcement actions.

Year (latest) Contaminant Category Count EPA Record
2020 Public Notice Other 2 SDWIS / NM3515029 / 7500
2016 Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 4 SDWIS / NM3515029 / 8000
2016 Chlorine MR 4 SDWIS / NM3515029 / 0999
2014 Groundwater Rule TT 9 SDWIS / NM3515029 / 0700
2014 Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) MR 8 SDWIS / NM3515029 / 2456
2014 TTHM MR 8 SDWIS / NM3515029 / 2950
2010 Lead and Copper Rule MR 4 SDWIS / NM3515029 / 5000
2008 Coliform (TCR) MCL 31 SDWIS / NM3515029 / 3100
2001 Coliform (TCR) MR 12 SDWIS / NM3515029 / 3100
1999 Consumer Confidence Rule Other 1 SDWIS / NM3515029 / 7000
1996 Coliform (TCR) Other 1 SDWIS / NM3515029 / 3100

How El Prado Water & Sanitation District Compares

Cross-reference this system's record against state averages and the federal MCL framework for context.

Metric El Prado Water & Sanitation District New Mexico avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 88 149 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 40 37.3 Indicates a contaminant exceeded a federal MCL
PFAS detection None 97.2% EPA final rule (2024): PFOA/PFOS MCL = 4.0 ppt
Population served 1,076 1,955 Sizing context for compliance burden

Sources: EPA SDWIS and EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141). State averages computed across 1,037 regulated public water systems in New Mexico.

Federal MCL reference, Safe Drinking Water Act thresholds ▼
Contaminant Federal MCL / Action Level Note
Lead 0 mg/L (Action Level: 0.015 mg/L) Lead and Copper Rule treatment technique
Arsenic 0.010 mg/L (10 ppb) Health-based MCL since 2006
Total Coliform Treatment technique (RTCR) Indicator organism, monitoring trigger
PFOA / PFOS (PFAS) 4.0 ppt each (final 2024 rule) Compliance deadline 2029 (EPA proposed extending to 2031, not yet final as of May 2026)
Nitrate (as N) 10 mg/L Acute health risk for infants

Frequently Asked Questions

Is El Prado Water & Sanitation District water safe to drink? ▼
El Prado Water & Sanitation District (PWS ID: NM3515029) has 88 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 1,076 people using Groundwater sources.
How many people does El Prado Water & Sanitation District serve? ▼
El Prado Water & Sanitation District serves 1,076 people in El Prado, New Mexico. It is a Local-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 422 service connections.
What type of violations does El Prado Water & Sanitation District have? ▼
El Prado Water & Sanitation District has 88 total violations: 40 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 40 monitoring/reporting violations, and 9 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in El Prado Water & Sanitation District water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for El Prado Water & Sanitation District under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does El Prado Water & Sanitation District use? ▼
El Prado Water & Sanitation District uses Groundwater as its primary water source. It is classified as a Community Water System (CWS), serving residential populations year-round.
Where does this data come from? ▼
All data comes from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and the UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program. SDWIS tracks compliance for all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Data Sources: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), Q4 2025. This data is provided for informational purposes only.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 PFAS monitoring data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainWater Editorial

Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. This system's figures are rendered directly from EPA SDWIS data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.