Every three months, Farron Hall goes to the well. The water
superintendent for Alamosa draws samples from the entry points
of the wells to the city's water supply and then sends them to a
lab for analysis. And every three months, the results show
pretty much the same thing. In Alamosa, every glass of tap water
is a little arsenic cocktail. The levels of contamination vary.
Chet Pauls, drinking-water program manager for the state, said
recent tests found arsenic at the East Alamosa Water District at
72 parts per billion. Last fall, Hall said the water contained
86 ppb of arsenic. The federal standard is 50 ppb, established
in 1942 when few scientists realized that arsenic is a powerful
carcinogen. In January, after years of research and a report
from the National Academy of Sciences, the Clinton
administration ordered the standard lowered to 10 ppb, a
compromise from the 5 ppb level recommended by scientists. Hall
was not happy. "I've lived here since 1979, and I don't think
there's anything wrong with the wat