Apartment Complex Residents Without Water For Nearly A Week

No water for nearly a week. While Las Cruces is not facing a water emergency like in El Paso, some residents said they have been without any tap since last week’s winter blast.

Residents at the High Range Apartment complex, off Roadrunner Parkway in East Las Cruces, told ABC-7’s New Mexico Mobile Newsroom, not being able to shower, wash dishes, or use regular plumbing as made conditions unlivable, forcing many to stay in hotels.

“This is the sixth day we haven’t had adequate water here,” Kally Malcom, a resident, said.

Not a single drip has dropped from the kitchen faucet since last week’s winter freeze, Malcom said.

“It’s been rather frustrating,” Malcom said.

And Malcom’s not alone in her frustration.

“Between no electricity and the water, you know, I really feel like we’re living in a third world country,” Julia Herbert, another resident, said. “This is ridiculous.”

Property Manager Connie Nunez said, water was shut off from all 144 individual units last Wednesday when pipes broke during the arctic chill.

When asked how it is acceptable to still have residents without running water six days later, Nunez said, “Well it’s not acceptable.”

Some residents told us they are actually filling up large buckets with pool water to flush their own toilets.

“That was the quickest solution to water for the toilet,” Nunez said.

Others said they have opted to stay in hotels instead.

“I just think getting pool water to go to the bathroom is just absolutely gross,” Herbert said.

We found an orange paper notice near the main office informing residents maintenance crews are working as quick as possible to fix the problem.

“We are not sitting with our hands crossed,” Nunez said.

But when asked to see what is being done, Nunez declined ABC-7’s offer, and said, workers are too busy to let us take a look.

“We are saudering the pipes as we go, there are just so many leaks that there can only be so many done in a day,” Nunez said.

“They should have done something ahead of time to prevent this from happening.”

Nunez apologized for the inconvenience but said, the situation was an act of nature and out of her control.

Nunez said water could be restored to all residents as early as Tuesday.