Re: how pollutted is the water of the pecos river in roswell, new mexico?

Hi Missy!

Good question! I live in New Mexico myself, up near Socorro, so I have a pretty good idea of how wierd the water situation can get out here.

All in all I'd say the Pecos isn't bad, but I probably wouldn't eat any of the fish out of it. Depending on the time of year, it's got a LOT of bacteria from the cow-influenced runoff (late summer when the monsoons hit) Specific information is always hard to get, but I see from my sources that it's okay to swim in, just don't go spitting mouthfuls at your friends or you all might end up in the bathroom for a few weeks.

I've got a couple of sources for you to check out. This first one is from an official EPA webpage. http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6en/xp/tab4.pdf

At the very bottom of table 4.18, there's some data from various places on the Pecos. At the top of each page, there's a row called "standard." These are the numbers you'd expect to see in a "normal" river without much of a hazard or nuisance to humans. You may notice that in most places, the sulfate content is Really high. This might be from pollution, or it might be from all the gypsum in the area, which is calcium sulfate. White Sands Park is just gypsum. If you've ever been there, that's why everyone's feet stink so bad when you get back, it's from the sulfur combining with the acids in your sweat. But back to the greater pollutants- The larger EPA website that may also be helpful to you is the regional one. try http://www.epa.gov/region6 and do a search on exactly what you'd like to find. http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/ is the official NM Environment department's homepage. If you scroll down the page, you can find a special branch just for the roswell area. It might be helpful to give them a call and ask how the river's doing.

If you can get to the river yourself, take a pen and some drawing paper and write and draw what you see. Use two scales, one where you look at everything you can see, including the trees and any distant views, and one where you look at individual settings, such as the very edge of the water. Look for: Insects, birds, animal tracks (or poop, feathers, bones, etc) and always try to take note of any strange colors. Are the leaves on the cottonwoods turning yet? Do you see any people trash? Scummy green balls of goo?

I recommend doing this so that you'll be able to see things when you get home and start researching anything you see. All animals, particularly insects are great indicators as to the health of a river. The presence of some fish might mean that the river can support fish, but that fish is the only one strong enough to survive.

Well, happy hunting- oh, and if you do go to the river, make sure you tie on the tennis shoes TIGHT!