Estancia runs dry as detention center drains water

Estancia runs – After years of drought, the New Mexico town of Estancia has declared a water emergency and is trucking in water as its federal immigration detention center becomes its biggest customer. Residents and trustees accuse delays and demand answers, while CoreCivic s

Wells in Estancia, New Mexico, have been failing for years, and now the pipes are starting to show it.

After the town declared a water emergency last week. Estancia—an estimated community of 1. 400 people in Torrance County—has begun hauling in water to fill its distribution system. At the same time. Estancia has reduced water sales to the Torrance County Detention Facility. or TCDF. a federal immigration detention center run by the private contractor CoreCivic. The detention facility has responded by trucking in water.

In the middle of the crisis, Mayor Runnel Riley took a leave of absence. During a Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday evening, Estancia’s elected leaders voted “no confidence” in the mayor.

Dozens of residents showed up for the meeting—some in person. others virtually—frustrated by both the water problems and the delays they say have dragged on while the town searches for a new supply. When asked by a reporter for the Mountainair Dispatch. board trustees said they did not have data available on what proportion of the city’s water goes to the detention facility.

TCDF can detain up to 800 people, and it has long been Estancia’s largest commercial water customer.

The state has provided funding to drill a new well, and Estancia will be opening the 30-day bidding process this month.

CoreCivic says operations have not been disrupted, and that contingency plans went into effect once the emergency was learned.

Roy Hubbard, Estancia’s deputy clerk, said the town will meet with CoreCivic on Wednesday to discuss next steps. He also said the detention facility has been the subject of complaints about sewer and water problems in the past.

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

“Drinking water is always available within our housing units and bottled water has been provided in addition to the readily available drinking water containers,” Gustin said.

As of Saturday, Hubbard said trucks had delivered 116,700 gallons of water to the town. He said water supply to CoreCivic will be “gradually be turned back on” when more water is available. The Mountainair Dispatch reported that more than 80 percent of Estancia’s water goes to commercial customers. but town officials have not clarified how much of that share goes to CoreCivic.

Mayor Pro Tem Albert Lovato acknowledged the difficulty of giving up-to-date details to residents during questions from a reporter. He said population at the detention center can change, affecting what the town can plan for.

“Our population goes up and it goes down because of CoreCivic,” Lovato said.

Behind the emergency is a longer drought story.

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

The New Mexico Groundwater Alliance says overpumping has caused significant declines to the groundwater level in the Estancia Basin aquifer. which the town relies on. The Office of the State Engineer. which regulates water rights in New Mexico. closed the Estancia Basin to new water rights. It predicted that if existing water rights remain in use, groundwater levels will continue to decline.

Across New Mexico—including Torrance County—state officials expect groundwater supplies to further diminish due to higher temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns linked to climate change.

While the town tries to secure a new well, residents have also been dealing with leadership tensions. Estancia elected Runnel Riley to replace the incumbent mayor in November 2025 by five votes. But as the town’s water problems became more severe, Riley stopped attending trustee meetings.

State Representative Stefani Lord, a Republican who represents Torrance and Bernalillo counties, said at Tuesday’s meeting: “I called the mayor in January. He has never returned my phone calls.”

“Just get the well finished. That is the short-term problem,” Lord said. “There are all kinds of things we can do in the future. But for this moment, we just have to focus on getting this done.”

During Tuesday’s meeting, trustees also voted to prohibit fireworks over the Fourth of July weekend. Estancia 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.

The detention center’s role in Estancia’s water strain is not new, but past complaints about services have made the current emergency more combustible.

In 2022. the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General documented unsanitary conditions at TCDF. including “clogged toilets. broken sinks. inoperable toilets. water leaks. and mold.” The Innovation Law Lab. an immigrant and refugee rights organization. has also documented complaints from detainees at TCDF about sewage overflows and restricted access to water.

Gustin. the CoreCivic spokesperson. disputed that narrative in the current moment. saying: “There 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.” He added. “At no point have those in our care been without drinking water.”.

The New Mexico Environment Department, or NMED, enforces health and safety regulations at TCDF. Drew Goretzka, a spokesperson for NMED, said that following a 2025 inspection, TCDF addressed potential deficiencies with the sewer system.

“NMED is supporting the town of Estancia through emergency response coordination. including requesting assistance from other state agencies to provide alternate water sources. ” Goretzka said. “The department is in communication with the town and its contractors to resolve the immediate water shortage issues.”.

Federal involvement sits in the background of the water fight. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deferred questions about the facility to CoreCivic.

The broader backdrop is that the federal government has expanded 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.

For communities like Estancia, residents elsewhere—from Texas to Pennsylvania—have raised concerns about whether local infrastructure can handle the water demand that detention centers represent.

In Estancia. those concerns are now measured in gallons delivered by truck and in a 30-day bidding process that begins only after the state funding has arrived. The town’s water emergency has also forced a political rupture: a mayor placed on leave. and a vote of “no confidence” during a meeting where residents demanded answers and watched the drilling process stall.

Roy Hubbard said the town is meeting with CoreCivic on Wednesday to discuss next steps. For a town running dry, the next steps are not abstract. They are the immediate question of when Estancia’s new well will be drilled. how much water will come back. and whether the detention facility can keep operating through the gap.

Estancia New Mexico water emergency TCDF CoreCivic drought Wells running dry Torrance County Detention Facility ICE