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States → New Mexico

Transient Non-Community Water System · PWS NM3590430

Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions

Mountainair, New Mexico 87036 - drinking water served from groundwater sources to 50 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

50
People served
79
EPA violations
34
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 79 drinking-water violations at Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions, 43% of them health-based - below the New Mexico per-system average.

79
Total EPA violations on record
43%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
50
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions

Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions is a federal-owned transient non-community water system that delivers drinking water to 50 residents in Mountainair, New Mexico (Torrance County) through 1 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 79 total violations for this system , of which 34 (43%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 32 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2021.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Groundwater Rule, recorded in 34 violations (TT, 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%).

Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions's 79 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
50
Total Violations
79
Health-Based Violations
34
Water Source
Groundwater

System Details

System Type
Transient Non-Community
Owner Type
Federal
Connections
1
County
Torrance
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
0
Monitoring Violations
32
Treatment Tech Violations
34

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Groundwater Rule TT 34 2014
Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 22 2021
Public Notice Other 9 2021
Nitrate-Nitrite MR 7 2017
Revised Total Coliform Rule Other 4 2016
Nitrate MR 3 2001

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 Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions.

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 NM3590430 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
2021 Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 22 SDWIS / NM3590430 / 8000
2021 Public Notice Other 9 SDWIS / NM3590430 / 7500
2017 Nitrate-Nitrite MR 7 SDWIS / NM3590430 / 1038
2016 Revised Total Coliform Rule Other 4 SDWIS / NM3590430 / 8000
2014 Groundwater Rule TT 34 SDWIS / NM3590430 / 0700
2001 Nitrate MR 3 SDWIS / NM3590430 / 1040

How Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions Compares

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

Metric Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions New Mexico avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 79 149 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 34 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 50 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 Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions water safe to drink? ▼
Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions (PWS ID: NM3590430) has 79 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 50 people using Groundwater sources.
How many people does Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions serve? ▼
Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions serves 50 people in Mountainair, New Mexico. It is a Federal-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 1 service connections.
What type of violations does Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions have? ▼
Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions has 79 total violations: 34 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 32 monitoring/reporting violations, and 34 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions use? ▼
Quarai Unit - Salinas Pueblo Missions uses Groundwater as its primary water source. It is classified as a Transient Non-Community Water System, serving transient populations.
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.