New Mexico is installing free water filters to address ‘forever chemical’ contamination

LA CIENEGUILLA —The garden beds are empty in José Villegas’ backyard, and the land where he grew even more corn and calabasas is a flat stretch of dirt. The La Cieneguilla resident removed his garden after the well water at his home tested positive for chemical contamination two years ago.

“This is what fed my babies — my babies and my grandchildren,” Villegas said. “They get all excited when they see a big, old, giant pumpkin, right? That’s how you sustain yourself.”

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — also called PFAS or “forever chemicals” because of their resistance to breaking down — are synthetic chemicals used in consumer and industrial products that have been linked to health issues. Plants grown with PFAS-contaminated water can sometimes accumulate PFAS, according to a Michigan State University guide, although more research is needed to understand how much PFAS will end up in the plants.

One in three parcels in the Santa Fe County communities of La Cieneguilla and La Cienega are affected by PFAS groundwater contamination, according to a report by research firm INTERA. Meanwhile, Curry County has some of the highest PFAS contamination documented in the state after decades of firefighting foam use at Cannon Air Force Base.

New Mexico’s Environment Department (NMED) is doing free water testing and giving away free water filters in those communities.

“The chemicals that we’re seeing in New Mexico tend to be associated with the older types of PFAS, what I would call the long-chain chemicals,” said state Environment Secretary James Kenney. “They’re the ones that have the most scientific data around them, and those are the ones that typically do cause things like kidney cancer, or liver cancer or interfere with reproductive health in both men and women.”

In 2023, Villegas’ private well tested positive for three of the six types of PFAS included in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water standards. One of those chemicals is connected to firefighting foam, he said. A blood test confirmed the same three PFAS were in Villegas’ body. Three of his brothers died of cancer, something he believes is linked to the groundwater contamination.

To avoid contact with the contaminated water, Villegas and his wife buy 5-gallon jugs of water to drink, fill the washing machine and bathe. They recently invested $5,000 into a filtration system for their well, and every six months the filter will have to be replaced for approximately $800. Villegas still does not drink the well water.

“But we did this so we can set an example to the community that you need to put something, at least something, to protect yourselves and your family,” Villegas said.

New Mexico’s Legislature appropriated $2 million earlier this year to address private well water contamination from PFAS. The state is trying to mitigate highest-risk communities first, Kenney said, which is why NMED is offering filters in Santa Fe and Curry counties.

“The levels are just significantly too high,” he said.

If PFAS contamination is confirmed, then the state can provide residents with either a filtration system for their private well or for faucets in their home. NMED has contracted TLC Plumbing to install home water filters, and the agency expects water filters to be installed in the next month, according to NMED spokesman Drew Goretzka.

The filtration systems can cost in the range of $2,000 to $5,000 to purchase and install. There is also some upkeep for the systems on a quarterly or yearly basis, Kenney said.

It’s unclear in Santa Fe County exactly where the groundwater contamination originated. The plume is near a National Guard outpost, an airport and a water reclamation facility — all potential sources of PFAS contamination. The types of PFAS NMED has seen resemble firefighting foam, but there are additional PFAS chemicals in some private wells that don’t resemble firefighting foam, according to Kenney.

The Environment Department is taking more soil and water samples to find a more conclusive answer to the question of who is responsible for the contamination in La Cieneguilla and La Cienega. That knowledge would help the state find responsible parties who can help pay to clean up the groundwater plume beneath these communities.

In Curry County, a Clovis Dairy made headlines in 2022 when it had to euthanize thousands of cows because their milk had unsafe levels of PFAS. The groundwater in that area has tested for PFAS contamination as high as 26,000 parts per trillion, far over the EPA drinking water standard of 4 parts per trillion, according to Kenney. New Mexico and the U.S. Air Force are involved in ongoing lawsuits over how to clean up the PFAS contamination.

NMED began testing private wells and other drinking water sources in Curry County in 2019, according to Goretzka, and also offered free private well water testing to Curry County residents in September. The agency sampled 33 wells there in September.

The Legislature has also appropriated $12 million to bring a public water system to rural Curry County residents.

The EPA established legal limits for six types of PFAS in drinking water in 2023 that are set to go into effect in the next two to four years. NMED has issued grants and worked with 620 water systems to help them reach that drinking water standard. Roughly 2.6% of those systems are exceeding the federal standard.

This year the EPA proposed pushing out the timeline for drinking water requirements.

“These decisions at the federal level result in real harm to communities around the country,” Kenney said, pointing to the cost of mitigating PFAS contamination and addressing PFAS litigation. He estimates the state has already spent $25 million dealing with PFAS in Curry and Otero counties.

In recent years the EPA has also established reporting requirements for companies importing or making products that contain PFAS. On Monday, the agency proposed reducing those regulations.

“This Biden-era rule would have imposed crushing regulatory burdens and nearly $1 billion in implementation costs on American businesses,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement.

Villegas is frustrated with the government response to PFAS contamination at every level, from the county to the state to the Department of Defense. Villegas has advocated for water filters to be provided, something the state is now doing.

For several years, he’s also asked local and state officials to provide his community with uncontaminated water, Villegas said.

“Take care of the community until we find the source and mitigation. Bring some water. Bring the water system, bring some water lines, or whatever. They refuse to do that for us,” Villegas said.