Primary sources: warningvector.com, cortezcurrent.com, mancosruralwater.com

Montezuma County Emergency Alert System issued an Extreme Immediate Local Area Emergency for Montezuma County, Colorado, at 8 p.m. MST Friday, Nov. 6, warning that Town of Mancos tap water is not safe to drink¹.

The IPAWS notice said that at about 12:20 p.m., the Town of Mancos water treatment facility could not keep up with demand after recent flooding affected the quality of raw water entering settling ponds, and that Public Works was working on repairs¹.

The alert said water entering homes and businesses is non-potable and should not be used for drinking or other purposes except flushing toilets, and that the order applies to Town of Mancos customers, not Mancos Rural Water or well users¹.

Potable water was listed as available at Mancos Brewery, 484 Hwy 160 Frontage Road, Mancos, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., limited to five gallons per person per day¹. The county told residents to turn off ice makers, recommended hand sanitizer at public restrooms, and directed restaurants to the Montezuma County Health Department¹. The notice was set to expire at 10 p.m. MST Friday and pointed people to mancoscolorado.com and the town Facebook page for updates¹.

That Friday night order followed days of flood-related strain on town water. Cortez Current reported Thursday town notices saying sediment from Mancos River flooding had cut how much the plant could treat and left Mancos at risk of exhausting its remaining treated supply². Those notices closed the public water dock to reduce demand and said treated drinking-water quality was still unaffected, while telling residents to prepare for a possible temporary loss of service².

The Journal, writing Monday after the flood, quoted Town Marshal Justen Goodall saying evacuations inside town limits had been lifted, wastewater infrastructure was damaged, and Cottonwood Park was likely a total loss³. Goodall said there was no indication the main drinking supply was contaminated and estimated residents would need to conserve for one to two weeks or until sediment dissipated³.

Town and rural systems are separate. Cortez Current said Mancos Rural Water lost a main Tuesday, leaving about 653 customers without water and under a boil-before-use order, with handouts at Mancos Brewing Company². The company's website said one leak had been repaired, crews were working on river-crossing breaks, a boil-water order remained in effect after loss of pressure, and potable water was available at Mancos River Brewery⁴. A Friday morning county volunteer alert cited by Cortez Current was aimed at that rural distribution, not the later town non-potable notice².

Cortez Current also reported that floodwater overtopped town wastewater lagoons on Nov. 2 and that a later town update said the ponds were no longer overflowing and the mechanical plant was running^2,3. How long town tap water will stay non-potable, and whether the Thursday quality-unaffected statement has been formally withdrawn, were not in the Friday IPAWS text^1,2.

Sources

1. Montezuma County Emergency Alert SystemLocal Area Emergency10:00 PM
2. Cortez CurrentMancos warns it could run out of treated waterNov 5, 8:00 PM
3. The JournalMancos residents asked to conserve water after floodingNov 3, 12:22 AM
4. Mancos Rural Water CompanyWater Service Update2:00 PM

Read the original at Montezuma County Emergency Alert System ↗