Water Shortage
Update #8 - Lightning Strike Recovery
Update 8/28/28. Our tanks are currently at 34.24ft. Lighting shorted out a panel last night so we were unable to process any water but everything is back online and we are processing again.
Last night was watering night for EVEN addresses. Tonight is watering for ODD addresses only from 6pm-10pm. Hope everyone has a great day!
Update #7 -Water Update
Update 8/28/26. Our tank is currently at 37ft. this morning. We are almost at capacity which is great news! Our guys are working hard to get our holding pond at full capacity as well.
Hopefully in a few more days we can modify the watering schedule to add more days. Thank you to everyone for conserving as much as you can to help our situation.
Village of Tularosa Public Hearing Monday, August 31
The Village of Tularosa will have a Public Hearing on Monday, August 19 at 6:00 PM at 609 St Francis Drive.
The purpose of this public hearing is to receive public testimony regarding the proposed acquisition of real property by the Village of Tularosa for use in connection with the Village's supplemental municipal water-source project. The proposed acquisition is intended to provide property necessary for the development of infrastructure to improve the reliability, resiliency, and long-term availability of the Village's municipal water supply.
Agenda >>
Update #6 - Water Update
Update 8/26/26. Although we are almost at capacity, our holding pond is not at a level we are comfortable with to allow a regular watering schedule just yet.
We ask that you still abide by our current watering schedule of:
Even numbers watering on Thursdays from 6pm-10pm
Odd numbers on Fridays from 6pm-10pm.
We are slowly but surely getting to a point where maybe by next week we can add some more days to our watering schedule.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Update #5 - Watering Allowed One Day A Week
We are allowing watering for one day a week to start out.
Even numbers can water on Thursday from 6PM to 10 PM only.
Odd numbers can water on Friday from 6PM to 10PM only.
Please abide by the new restrictions set in place until further notice. Watering is permitted only during the designated times. Violations may result in a citation. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Update #4 - No Longer Under Advissory to Boil Water
The Village of Tularosa is no longer under an advissory to boil water. We want to thank everyone in the community for being cooperative.
The Village will continue to keep community residents informed about the water situation.
Update #3 - Water Restrictions
August 11, 2026. Our tanks are currently at 20.64 ft. We are still under a NO WATERING restriction. Our state of emergency resolution is still in affect. (Under #3 Prohibition Period it states that these restrictions shall remain in force for an initial period if seven (7) days from the date of adoption, or until further notice is provided by the Village administration upon verification that the water treatment capabilities and tank levels have safely recovered.)
View Resolution (PDF File)
We are still currently in the process of recovery so until further notice the water restrictions will remain in place. We are making every effort to resolve this issue as fast as we can. Thank you again for all your efforts in abiding by the water restrictions.
Reminder that water is available everyday from 8:30am to 4:30 pm at the Community Center located at 1050 N Bookout Rd.
Precautionary Boil Water Advisory
For the Village of Tularosa Domestic Water Consumers
Due to the water restriction that began Monday, August 3, 2026, the Village of Tularosa is advising its water consumers to boil water prior to consuming and/or seek an alternative source of drinking water, such as bottled water. Extreme low pressure or no pressure occurrences such as those experienced during a water restriction/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 the Village of Tularosa 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, and let it boil 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.env.nm.gov/drinking_water/boil-water-advisories/
Read Complete Advisory >>
Update #2 - Water Restrictions
An update on our current water situation. We are actively pursuing ways to haul water to our water tanks and our holding pond. Getting approval for these efforts has been extremely difficult as NMED requires only approved trucks to haul water and there are only 5 in the State of NM. We have been utilizing Oasis which is one of the approved trucks but we need a truck that can hold more water so we remedy this situation quicker. The other trucks are currently being used by other towns that are in the same crises as we are.
Our Mayor, Trustees and our Water Operators are working constantly to find a solution. We are making every effort possible to process any water we are intaking which has been a difficult process. Our water plant is fully operational but cannot process the flood waters with debris and such as it will be detrimental to our plant and holding pond.
We are currently at 11ft in our tanks which is about 860,000 gallons. We are currently using about 180,000 gallons a day which is still considered a very high usage for a normal day.
Thank you to the residents who are actively abiding by our water restrictions. We really appreciate your efforts.
Also, we will be providing bottled water to residents at the Community Center starting tomorrow at 4pm. We will give updates as we find out anymore information.
Resolution 2026-2027-9 Water Emergency
Resolution (PDF File)
A RESOLUTION DECLARING A WATER EMERGENCY, IMPOSING MANDATORY OUTDOOR WATER RESTRICTIONS, AND PROVIDING FOR ENFORCEMENT IN THE VILLAGE OF TULAROSA, NEW MEXICO
WHEREAS, the Village of Tularosa relies on vital municipal water treatment, storage and supply systems to serve the health, safety, and welfare of its residents; and
WHEREAS, recent heavy rains and flash flooding in the neighboring Ruidoso and upper watershed areas have washed severe amounts of wildfire ash, soot, and debris into the Tularosa regional water sources, rendering standard water treatment processes complicated or temporarily untreatable; and
WHEREAS, municipal water storage tanks for the Village of Tularosa have reached critically low levels, creating an immediate threat to public safety, fire protection, and basic domestic water needs.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the governing body of the Village of Tularosa, New Mexico:
Section 1. Declaration of Emergency. A formal state of emergency is hereby declared concerning the municipal water system of the Village of Tularosa.
Section 2. Watering Prohibitions. Effective immediately, all outdoor watering, irrigation, and non-essential water use are prohibited. This restriction explicitly bans lawn sprinkling, watering of gardens and landscaping, washing of vehicles or driveways, and filling or topping off swimming pools, hot tubes, and decorative fountains.
Section 3. Prohibition Period. These restrictions shall remain in force for an initial period of seven (7) days from the date of adoption, or until further notice is provided by the Village administration upon verification that water treatment capabilities and tank levels have safely recovered.
Section 4. Conservation Measures. All residents and commercial enterprises are urged to immediately practice severe indoor water conversation, including taking shorter showers, running only full loads of laundry and dishes, and repairing any active plumbing leaks.
Section 5. Enforcement and Citations. The Tularosa Police Department and municipal code enforcement officers are authorized to issue immediate citations and fines to any person or property observed wasting water or violating the outdoor watering prohibition while this emergency resolution is active.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 3rd day of August, 2026
Resolution (PDF File)
ATTENTION RESIDENTS
We are in a crisis with our water situation and our tanks are almost empty at this point.
We really need everyone to abide by the NO WATERING restriction and minimize the water usage for daily use. We are currently reaching out for help for this situation. Please do everything you can to reduce the usage of water. We will be posting updates as we find out any efforts to resolve this matter.