Feds offer NM counties $1M to address water contamination from flooding • Source New Mexico
U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández on June 1, 2026, announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has agreed to pay up to $1 million to help Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire victims pay for water contamination at their homes. Above: Leger Fernández and other local officials tour water systems in the burn scar in November. (Patrick Lohmann/Source NM)
Northern New Mexico residents who recently suffered drinking water contamination due to the 2022 Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire can now receive funding for repairs or a treatment system from the federal Agriculture Department, according to U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.)
“We are grateful that USDA listened to your calls and our requests,” Leger Fernández said. “They found the money so that you can drink water in your home, knowing it’s been tested and filtered.”
The 2022 Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire, which started due to two botched prescribed burns, destroyed hundreds of homes and several hundred thousand acres of property. It als…