All Estancia residents were asked to conserve water through Wednesday as the town conducts emergency repairs to Well #8, which supplies the community’s water system, according to a county statement issued Tuesday.
Bottled water is available for residents Wednesday at the Town of Estancia Fire Department, located at 1001 E. Highland Avenue, while repairs are underway. The town’s water tank will be used to supply the community during the repair period, when Well #8 will not be operational, according to J. Jordan Barela, Torrance County manager.
“Water customers may be without water on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, while the well repairs are being completed,” Barela wrote in the statement.
The emergency repair represents the latest challenge in what has become an ongoing water infrastructure crisis for the town. Mayor Nathan Dial told the New Mexico Political Report in May that one of the town’s primary wells has been “acting up and going out” for roughly a year, leaving Estancia operating on essentially one well for about nine months.
The town has asked residents to conserve water multiple times this year, including requests in May and July, as officials work to address the deteriorating water infrastructure.
Estancia has applied to the state Water Trust Board for $5 million in funding — $2.5 million to drill a new well and another $2.5 million to upgrade its water system, Dial told Political Report in May.
The water challenges have affected local development plans, including a proposed 75-unit RV park that has been put on hold until the water situation is resolved, according to Political Report.
The CoreCivic detention center, which houses federal and county inmates, accounts for approximately 20% of Estancia’s total water usage and has agreed to haul its own water to reduce strain on the municipal system.
Residents with questions can contact Estancia Town Hall at (505) 384-2708. The Town Board of Trustees meets the first and third Monday of each month at 6:15 p.m. at Town Hall, 601 S 10th Street.
For utility emergencies after hours, residents should call (505) 384-2705 through Torrance County Dispatch.
The town has not announced a timeline for completing the Well #8 repairs or when normal water service will resume.
