For the Portales Water System
BOIL YOUR WATER BEFORE USING

Due to the water outage that occurred on November 2, 2022. The Portales Water System is
advising its water consumers to boil water prior to consuming. Extreme low pressure or no
pressure occurrences such as those experienced during a water outage may increase the
likelihood of microbiological contamination within the distribution system. Although no
contamination has currently been detected as a result of this water outage, customers of
Portales Water System are still encouraged to boil their water until further notice.
What should I do? What does this mean?

• DO NOT DRINK THE WATER WITHOUT BOILING IT FIRST. Bring all water to a boil,
let it boil the water for one minute before drinking, cooking, washing fruits and
vegetables, feeding a baby, brushing teeth, preparing drinks, making ice, and providing
drinking water for pets. More details about precautions can be found in the following fact
sheet: https://www-archive.env.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/10/
Boil_NMDOHNMED_7.13.16.pdf or https://www-archive.env.nm.gov/wp-content/
uploads/sites/5/2017/07/Boil-Advisory_Spanish_2016.pdf

• Although, no contamination has currently been detected in the Portales Water
System, *Fecal coliforms and E. coli are bacteria whose presence indicates that the
water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Microbes in these wastes can
cause diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms. They may pose a
special health risk for infants, young children, and people with severely compromised
immune systems.*

• The symptoms above are not caused only by organisms in drinking water. If you
experience any of these symptoms and they persist, you may want to seek medical
advice. People at increased risk should seek advice from their health care providers
about drinking this water.

What is being done?
The repair is being made and disinfected; and, the system has been recharged and flushed. When
repairs are made to the water system, we will conduct special monitoring to ensure that the
system is free of microbial contamination. In addition, we will inform you when you no longer need
to boil your water. We anticipate resolving the problem as quickly as possible of the official posting
of this notice. We expect water samples to be received back within 5 days of this notification and
We will inform you when you no longer need to boil your water.

For more information, please
contact John DeSha at 575-356-6662 or 100 W. First Street, PORTALES, NM 88130.

*Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially
those who may not have received this notice directly (for example, people in apartments,
nursing homes, schools, and businesses). You can do this by posting this notice in a public
place or distributing copies by hand or mail.*