{"id":773,"date":"2026-07-02T19:39:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T19:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773"},"modified":"2026-07-02T19:39:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T19:39:45","slug":"new-mexico-ice-jail-has-to-truck-water-into-town-that-declared-a-water-emergency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico ICE Jail Has to Truck Water Into Town That Declared a Water Emergency"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n

Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with <\/span><\/i>a donation<\/span><\/i> of any size.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Read more The \u201cBoard of Peace\u201d Is Planning to Concentrate Gazans in \u201cHamas-Free\u201d Enclaves<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Following years of drought, the wells in Estancia, N.M., are running dry. <\/p>\n

After declaring a water emergency last week, the small town in Torrance County is hauling in water to fill its pipes. Estancia has also reduced water sales to the Torrance County Detention Facility, a federal immigration detention center run by the private contractor CoreCivic. The detention facility, Estancia\u2019s largest commercial water customer, has resorted to trucking in water. <\/p>\n

In the midst of the crisis, Estancia Mayor Runnel Riley has taken a leave of absence. During a Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday evening, Estancia\u2019s elected leaders passed a vote of \u201cno confidence\u201d in the mayor. The state has provided funding to drill a new well, and Estancia will be opening the 30-day bidding process this month.<\/p>\n

Dozens of residents attended Tuesday\u2019s meeting in person or virtually to voice their frustration about the water problems and delays in drilling a new well. When asked by a reporter for the Mountainair Dispatch, board trustees said they did not have data available on what proportion of the city\u2019s water goes to the detention facility. Estancia is home to 1,400 people, and up to 800 people can be detained at the facility.<\/p>\n

Ryan Gustin, senior public affairs director at CoreCivic, said the company implemented contingency plans once it learned of the water emergency. He said that the Torrance County Detention Facility has brought in additional water supplies, and the water emergency has not impacted its operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cDrinking water is always available within our housing units and bottled water has been provided in addition to the readily available drinking water containers,\u201d Gustin said.<\/p>\n

Roy Hubbard, Estancia\u2019s deputy clerk, told Inside Climate News that the town is meeting with CoreCivic on Wednesday to discuss next steps. The detention facility has been the subject of complaints about sewer and water problems in the past.<\/p>\n

A Detention Center, a Drought and Years of Delay<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The current water shortage is not Estancia\u2019s first. <\/p>\n

Last year, Estancia asked residents to conserve water because its wells were not producing adequately. In 2024, the town issued a similar call.<\/p>\n

Overpumping has caused significant declines to the groundwater level in the Estancia Basin aquifer, which the town relies on, according to the . The Office of the State Engineer, which regulates water rights in New Mexico, to new water rights. However, the office predicted that if existing water rights remain in use, the groundwater level will continue to decline.<\/p>\n

New Mexico, including Torrance County, is experiencing severe drought. State officials expect groundwater supplies to further diminish because of higher temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns due to climate change.<\/p>\n

Estancia elected Runnel Riley to replace the incumbent mayor in November 2025 by a mere five votes. However, Riley stopped attending trustee meetings as the town\u2019s water problems became more severe.<\/p>\n

State Rep. Stefani Lord, a Republican who represents Torrance and Bernalillo counties, said at Tuesday\u2019s meeting: \u201cI called the mayor in January. He has never returned my phone calls.\u201d <\/p>\n

Read more Ahead of America\u2019s 250th, Most Say Nation Has Lost Its Way<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cJust get the well finished. That is the short-term problem,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are all kinds of things we can do in the future. But for this moment, we just have to focus on getting this done.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the meeting, the trustees also voted to prohibit fireworks over the 4th of July weekend. The town still plans to hold a fireworks display, but private citizens will not be allowed to set off fireworks because of the ongoing drought and the risk of fires during the water emergency.<\/p>\n

Hubbard, the deputy clerk, said that as of Saturday, trucks had delivered 116,700 gallons of water to the town. He said that water supply to CoreCivic will \u201cgradually be turned back on\u201d when there is more water available. According to reporting in the Mountainair Dispatch, more than 80 percent of the town\u2019s water goes to commercial customers. However, town officials have not clarified how much of that share goes to CoreCivic.<\/p>\n

During Tuesday\u2019s meeting, in response to questions from a Mountainair Dispatch reporter, Mayor Pro Tem Albert Lovato said that providing up-to-date information on the town\u2019s water supply is difficult because of the fluctuating population at the detention center. \u201cOur population goes up and it goes down because of CoreCivic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The detention center has been a source of controversy for years. <\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Office of the Inspector General unsanitary conditions at TCDF in 2022, including \u201cclogged toilets, broken sinks, inoperable toilets, water leaks, and mold.\u201d The Innovation Law Lab, an immigrant and refugee rights organization, complaints from detainees at TCDF about sewage overflows and restricted access to water.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been no sewage issues at TCDF because of this situation, nor were there any sewage issues in 2025 related to any water supply issues,\u201d said Gustin, the CoreCivic spokesperson. \u201cAt no point have those in our care been without drinking water.\u201d<\/p>\n

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) enforces health and safety regulations at TCDF. Agency spokesperson Drew Goretzka said that, following a 2025 inspection, TCDF has addressed potential deficiencies with the sewer system.<\/p>\n

\u201cNMED is supporting the Town of Estancia through emergency response coordination, including requesting assistance from other state agencies to provide alternate water sources,\u201d Goretzka said. \u201cThe Department is in communication with the Town and its contractors to resolve the immediate water shortage issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Immigration and Customs Enforcement deferred questions about the facility to CoreCivic. <\/p>\n

The federal agency has expanded its detention capacity under the Trump administration. ICE purchased numerous warehouses around the country to open new detention facilities this year for immigrants who are in deportation proceedings. ICE has been detaining an increasing number of people with active immigration cases seeking to stay in the country. Many residents in these communities, from Texas to Pennsylvania, have raised concerns whether local infrastructure could support the increased water demand from detention centers.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s UFC Cage Fight Is an Apt Metaphor for a Nation Built on Colonial Violence<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Torrance County Detention Facility has been the subject of complaints about sewer and water problems in the past.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Mexico ICE Jail Has to Truck Water Into Town That Declared a Water Emergency - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Mexico ICE Jail Has to Truck Water Into Town That Declared a Water Emergency - Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Torrance County Detention Facility has been the subject of complaints about sewer and water problems in the past.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-02T19:39:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=773#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=773\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\"},\"headline\":\"New Mexico ICE Jail Has to Truck Water Into Town That Declared a Water Emergency\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T19:39:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=773\"},\"wordCount\":1053,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=773#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1dc8eee59f7266511ce81b9e1e01c6b6.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=773#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=773\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=773\",\"name\":\"New Mexico ICE Jail Has to Truck Water Into Town That Declared a Water Emergency - Smart Moving Home\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=773#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=773#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1dc8eee59f7266511ce81b9e1e01c6b6.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T19:39:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=773#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=773\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=773#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1dc8eee59f7266511ce81b9e1e01c6b6.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1dc8eee59f7266511ce81b9e1e01c6b6.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1705},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=773#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New Mexico ICE Jail Has to Truck Water Into Town That Declared a Water Emergency\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Smart Moving Home\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New Mexico ICE Jail Has to Truck Water Into Town That Declared a Water Emergency - Smart Moving Home","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New Mexico ICE Jail Has to Truck Water Into Town That Declared a Water Emergency - Smart Moving Home","og_description":"The Torrance County Detention Facility has been the subject of complaints about sewer and water problems in the past.","og_url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773","og_site_name":"Smart Moving Home","article_published_time":"2026-07-02T19:39:45+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa"},"headline":"New Mexico ICE Jail Has to Truck Water Into Town That Declared a Water Emergency","datePublished":"2026-07-02T19:39:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773"},"wordCount":1053,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dc8eee59f7266511ce81b9e1e01c6b6.jpg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773","url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773","name":"New Mexico ICE Jail Has to Truck Water Into Town That Declared a Water Emergency - Smart Moving Home","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dc8eee59f7266511ce81b9e1e01c6b6.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-02T19:39:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dc8eee59f7266511ce81b9e1e01c6b6.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1dc8eee59f7266511ce81b9e1e01c6b6.jpg","width":2560,"height":1705},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=773#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New Mexico ICE Jail Has to Truck Water Into Town That Declared a Water Emergency"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/","name":"Smart Moving Home","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/smartmovinghome.com"],"url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}