AFTER THE WILDFIRES

New Mexico City Is Almost Entirely Out of Fresh Water

This city only has 20 days left of fresh water due to a double whammy of flooding and wildfires.

A city in New Mexico is almost entirely out of fresh water after spring wildfires and summer flooding wreaked havoc on local water sources. The flooding washed charred debris from the fires into the Galinas River, a problem which the city of Las Vegas' filtration system is not equipped to handle. Typically, chlorine is used to treat water—but when chlorine reacts with carbon, it becomes carcinogenic. City officials in Las Vegas are now left with only about 20 days of fresh water before it runs out, according to CNN. Officials are spending this weekend pre-treating and testing water in a nearby lake, but testing and pre-treatment could take several days.