EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) said it completed the first of two follow-up tests of an arsenic treatment facility (ATF) that “slightly” exceeded the federal limit for arsenic in the utility’s voluntary monthly tests for April.
CRRUA, which provides water and wastewater services to Sunland Park and Santa Teresa, announced on Thursday, May 15, in a news release.
Follow-up test results for the Santa Teresa Industrial ATF were 12 parts per billion (ppb,) which matched the 12 ppb in April’s test, the utility said.
CRRUA said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Maximum Contaminate Level for arsenic is 10 ppb. Results are from Eurofins Environment Testing — an independent water lab certified by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) from samples taken on May 6.
The utility also conducted follow-up testing at the two ATFs that passed the April testing. The Sunland Park ATF was 4.4 ppb, and the Santa Teresa Community ATF was 5.7 ppb, both below the 10 ppb MCL, CRRUA said.
CRRUA said a second follow-up test at the three ATFs was conducted this week, and the utility will release those results when it receives them from the independent water testing lab.
“These follow-up tests are for internal monitoring and public transparency only. They are not for compliance purposes,” CRRUA Executive director Juan Crosby said. “Only the quarterly tests NMED conducts are for compliance and according to the latest compliance tests, the Santa Teresa Industrial ATF remains NMED compliant.”
Crosby also provided additional context saying the following:
“It’s for these types of situations that NMED grades utilities on a rolling annual average. They know that in between their (NMED) quarterly compliance testing, changes can occur in the water treatment process that can temporarily impact operations. Regulatory agencies understand this and allow utilities to make necessary adjustments without negatively impacting their arsenic compliance scores. Through its own voluntary testing, CRRUA discovered an elevated level at one facility. This is complicated chemistry that involves the mixing ratio of chemicals. So, instead of overtreating, operators immediately began making gradual adjustments to the treatment to bring the arsenic level below the MCL without overcompensating. This type of voluntary testing and close working relationship with NMED is unique to the CRRUA service area because it exceeds what is required by compliance regulation, and CRRUA openly publicizes the process. You don’t always see that with water utilities. This is not an operating process all utilities follow. CRRUA intentionally provides a higher level of transparency to keep customers aware of their utility system. Facility operators follow standard operating procedures (SOPs,) and this situation will provide valuable training and a data point that will be added to the SOPs.”
CRRUA said it operates four ATFs and excluded the Border Entry ATF from its voluntary testing due to its continued meeting of federal and state requirements.
Crosby said CRRUA will continue to conduct daily monitoring at all ATFs.
As of January, all four ATFs operated by CRRUA are NMED compliant, which means they were below EPA’s MCL for four consecutive quarters, the utility said.
The utility said that since January 24, CRRUA has passed 22 arsenic tests including four quarterly NMED tests.
Arsenic tests results are available here.
Additionally, CRRUA recently achieved 94.8 percent compliance in correcting deficiencies identified by NMED in its 2023 Sanitary Survey of CRRUA. Of the 58 deficiencies identified, CRRUA has corrected 55, the utility said.
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