Santa Fe
Santa Fe, NM water profile — supply sources, drought status, wastewater reuse, and the key water issues facing the city.
santa fe water system (city of)
surface water (rivers/reservoirs) · local government · PWSID NM3505126
Below EPA's 15 ppb lead action level at last testing.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) · 2026 Q1
Santa Fe is a small but growing city and the 5th-largest in New Mexico, home to roughly 84,099 residents. Santa Fe's drinking water comes largely from the same regional sources that serve New Mexico: Rio Grande, Pecos River, and groundwater.
As elsewhere in New Mexico, the central challenge is drought. Chronic Rio Grande shortfalls and a produced-water reuse debate make New Mexico a proving ground for arid-state policy.
New Mexico reuses an estimated 18% of its treated wastewater and maintains developing reuse programs; Santa Fe tracks severe to extreme drought conditions on the U.S. Drought Monitor scale.
Explore the New Mexico profile for statewide context, or dig into the water issues shaping Santa Fe below.
Santa Fe County water quality
Source: EPA SDWIS · 2026 Q1
At a glance
- Population ~84,099 (5th-largest in New Mexico)
- Primary sources: Rio Grande, Pecos River, and groundwater
- Drought: severe to extreme conditions
- State reuse rate: ~18% of wastewater
Statewide drought history
% of New Mexico in severe+ drought (Extreme (D3) now).
Source: U.S. Drought Monitor
Common questions
Is tap water safe in Santa Fe?
Santa Fe's largest water system, SANTA FE WATER SYSTEM (CITY OF), serves about 90,810 people. EPA records show 1 health-based violation(s) since 2016 and a most-recent 90th-percentile lead level of 1.3 ppb (EPA action level is 15 ppb). Always check your own provider's annual Consumer Confidence Report.
Where does Santa Fe get its water?
SANTA FE WATER SYSTEM (CITY OF) draws primarily from surface water (rivers/reservoirs), part of New Mexico's supply from Rio Grande, Pecos River, groundwater.
Related water issues
Drought
Much of the American West is in a multi-decade dry period that researchers describe as the most severe in over a millennium, reshaping how communities plan for water.
ExploreColorado River
The river that supplies 40 million people has lost roughly a fifth of its flow since 2000, forcing a renegotiation of how seven states share the water.
ExploreGroundwater Depletion
Aquifers from the Central Valley to the Ogallala are being pumped faster than they recharge, causing land subsidence and threatening long-term supply.
ExplorePotable Reuse
Advanced purification turns treated wastewater into water that meets or exceeds drinking-water standards — increasingly essential in water-stressed regions.
Explore