Public water system · NM3500305
ActiveSouthwest Cheese
At a glance
Southwest Cheese (PWSID NM3500305) is an active non-transient non-community water system in Curry County, New Mexico. It reports serving 450 people through 1 service connection. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as privately owned. EPA's records list 9 violations for this system; none is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2024.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
450
Service connections
1
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
NTNCWS
Non-transient non-community water system
System record
How does Southwest Cheese compare with other water systems in Curry County?
By EPA's size categories, Southwest Cheese is a very small system (500 people or fewer). Curry County has 16 active public water systems, and Southwest Cheese is the 5th-largest of them by population served. Its population served is well below the county average of 3,357 people per system, and accounts for 0.8% of the 53,710 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across New Mexico, the 1,165 active systems average 1,885 people each. Nationally, the average active non-transient non-community water system reports serving 430 people, so Southwest Cheese is roughly in line with that figure.
What does “non-transient non-community water system” mean?
A non-transient non-community water system regularly serves at least 25 of the same people for more than six months a year, but not where they live. Schools, factories, office buildings and hospitals with their own supply are typical examples. New Mexico has 151 active non-transient non-community water systems, 13% of the state's 1,165 active systems. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers. 1,009 New Mexico systems (87%) list groundwater as their primary source.
Who owns and regulates Southwest Cheese?
EPA lists Southwest Cheese as privately owned. The NM state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 9 of the 16 active systems in Curry County (56%) are also privately owned.
Does Southwest Cheese have drinking water violations?
EPA's records list 9 violations for this system; none is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2024. The violations listed here began between November 2013 and October 2024. By type: 6 monitoring and reporting and 3 public notice, recordkeeping or other. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Lead and Copper Rule (3 of them). EPA lists 9 as resolved. Resolved means at least one resolving action is on record: the system returned to compliance, the rule no longer applies, or no further action was needed.
| Began | Violation | Contaminant or rule | Health-based | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52 | Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000 | No | Resolved |
| 2021-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52 | Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000 | No | Resolved |
| 2018-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52 | Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000 | No | Resolved |
| 2018-09-23 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherFailure to Consult with State · code 20 | Groundwater Rulecode 0700 | No | Resolved |
| 2016-08-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456 | No | Resolved |
| 2016-08-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950 | No | Resolved |
| 2016-06-02 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherSample Siting Plan Errors (RTCR) · code 5A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2014-12-21 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2013-11-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
All 9 violations in EPA's records, newest first.Labels and codes come from EPA's SDWIS reference tables. A monitoring or reporting violation means a required test or report was missed or late; it does not by itself mean a contaminant was found. "Health-based" marks violations of a legal limit or required treatment.
Southwest Cheese: frequently asked questions
Who runs Southwest Cheese?
Southwest Cheese (PWSID NM3500305) is a non-transient non-community water system privately owned. It is regulated by the NM state drinking water program.
How many people does Southwest Cheese serve?
Southwest Cheese reports serving 450 people through 1 service connection in Curry County, New Mexico.
Where does Southwest Cheese get its water?
EPA SDWIS lists this system's primary water source as groundwater. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers.
Does Southwest Cheese have any drinking water violations?
EPA's records list 9 violations for this system; none is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2024. A monitoring or reporting violation means a required test or report was missed or late; it does not by itself mean a contaminant was found.
Is Southwest Cheese's water safe to drink?
AquaCensus shows EPA compliance records, not current water test results, so it cannot say whether the water is safe at a given moment. EPA's records list 9 violations for this system; none is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2024. For current results, consult EPA ECHO, or the NM state drinking water program.
Where can I find Southwest Cheese's water quality report?
The annual Consumer Confidence Report requirement applies to community water systems. Southwest Cheese is a non-transient non-community water system, so it is not required to publish one; like every public water system, it must notify the people it serves about violations under EPA's public notification rules.
Other water systems in Curry County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epcor Water New Mexico Inc. Clovis | Curry | 41,066 | Community | Groundwater |
| Cannon Air Force Base Water System | Curry | 7,832 | Community | Groundwater |
| Texico Water System | Curry | 1,426 | Community | Groundwater |
| Melrose Water System | Curry | 1,296 | Community | Groundwater |
| Loves Travel Center and Cooks Restaurant | Curry | 335 | Non-transient non-community | Groundwater |
| Longhorn Estates Mdwca | Curry | 264 | Community | Groundwater |
Related pages
Working with water-system records? Pro adds alerts, change history and CSV export ($49/mo); Enterprise adds full national files, the API and an MCP server for AI tools.
About this data
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and SDWA violation records, via EPA ECHO, as published October 1, 2026 — AquaCensus refreshes it quarterly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: AquaCensus, “Southwest Cheese, PWSID NM3500305, New Mexico”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/new-mexico/southwest-cheese-nm3500305 (data as of October 1, 2026).