Sunland Park's water now meets EPA arsenic standards. Can the state rebuild trust with residents?
Sunland Park’s water system has met federal arsenic limits since January 2025, but residents remain concerned about contamination, steep rate increases and a lack of trust in the water authority and regulators. Residents also question Project Jupiter’s potential water and environmental impacts; the New Mexico Environment Department sued the water authority in May 2025 over arsenic monitoring and notification failures.
Sunland Park’s water system has remained within the EPA’s arsenic limit since January 2025 after increased state oversight, but recent testing found levels near the legal maximum. Residents told New Mexico Environment Department officials that they still distrust the water, face sharply higher bills and sometimes continue buying bottled water. The department is developing a source-water protection plan for public wells in the region and will continue monitoring arsenic despite the system’s current compliance.
The concerns follow a $189,000 settlement between the department and the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority over violations uncovered in a 2023 investigation. The department also filed suit in May 2025 seeking real-time arsenic monitoring, customer test strips, alternative water supplies during violations, public meetings and civil penalties.
Residents used the meeting to raise separate concerns about Project Jupiter, a nearby data center campus that is using an estimated 782 million gallons of water annually during construction. The water authority has a nondisclosure agreement with STACK Infrastructure, one of the project’s major companies, and residents said they have not received adequate information about the project’s environmental effects or its potential to worsen local water problems.