Customers are Urged to Boil Water Prior to Drinking

(Santa Fe, N.M.) –The New Mexico Environment Department's (NMED) Drinking Water Bureau has issued a "precautionary boil water advisory" for the Seboyeta water system located in Cibola County.

NMED issued the precautionary advisory on November 16, 2012 after bacteriological contamination (E. coli) was detected in a drinking water sample from the system. NMED recommends that the Seboyeta water system notify water consumers of the precautionary advisory. The Seboyeta water system will collect additional samples to confirm the presence of E. coli and if found, will notify their water consumers as required by NMED.

This precautionary advisory only applies to the drinking water from the Seboyeta water system, and does not extend to any other surrounding water systems.

Consumers of the Seboyeta water system are advised to boil the water for five minutes before drinking, cooking, dishwashing and bathing. The presence of E. coli in water indicates that the water may have been in contact with sewage or animal wastes, and could contain disease-causing organisms. Most strains of E. coli are harmless and live in the intestines of healthy humans and animals. However, a positive test for E. coli in the drinking water supply may indicate the presence of dangerous strains of E. coli or other disease-causing organisms. These types of organisms may cause severe gastrointestinal illness and, in rare cases, death. Children, the elderly and immuno-compromised individuals are at an increased risk for illness.

The NMED Drinking Water Bureau will provide technical assistance to the water system as needed and Seboyeta water system will continue to test the water until no further threat of contamination remains.

For more information, call NMED Communications Director Jim Winchester at (505) 827-0314 or Nora Romero, Drinking Water Bureau Albuquerque Area Supervisor, at (505) 222-9531.