Water supply and treatment in Bosque Farms and Peralta

The village of Bosque Farms has an effective water supply that covers the whole village. The water comes from two groundwater wells, both about 650 feet deep, with water being pumped at an average rate of 1,200 gallons per minute to a 1.5 million gallons storage tanks system.

The water supply is, of course, critical to homes, schools and businesses, but is also critical in firefighting operations, as the recent fires in Los Angeles demonstrated.

The water is tested regularly, according to state and federal regulations, to ensure the quality of the water. Incidentally, it should be noted that the testing and reporting of municipal water quality (regulated under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act) are more stringent than are required for bottled water (under the Food and Drug Administration). Of course, this view is disputed by water bottling companies.

Many residents in Bosque Farms also use individual well water for irrigation, car washing, etc. Bosque Farms operates a sewage collection and water treatment system for the Bosque Farms residents, and for some waste Bosque Farms receives from Peralta. The treated water is discharged under strict testing to the Rio Grande.

The town of Peralta does not have a water supply system, with each property relying on individual groundwater wells, with a couple of combined localized water systems. The groundwater wells are 200-400 feet deep, and the water quality is good.

The town of Peralta serves about 20 percent of its 2,300 residents with a sewer service. Under an agreement with Bosque Farms, sewage from these Peralta residents is pumped to Bosque Farms for treatment.