Mancos sends water samples to the lab; results due Friday
The town says it is finally making enough water to flush its mains the way the state requires, and that chlorine levels in both tanks now meet what the state asked for. If Friday's lab results pass, Mancos says it will start talking with the state about lifting the boil advisory.
For the first time since the flood, the Town of Mancos has put a date on the next step out of its boil water advisory.
In a notice stamped 2 p.m. on Thursday, November 12, the town said it is “producing water at a level that has allowed us to flush our lines as required by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment,” and that “the chlorine residuals in the tanks are meeting the levels asked of the Town.”
Graphic: Cortez Current. Source: Town of Mancos, “Public Service Announcement - Water Emergency Update - 2:00 pm,” November 12, 2026
Flushing is the step the town said on November 8 would have to come before anything else. Its sequence then was: flush the mains throughout the distribution system, collect bacteriological samples from around the system and from both storage tanks, wait about 24 hours for the laboratory, and then wait for the state to authorize lifting the advisory in writing.
Thursday’s notice says the town has reached the sampling stage again. “Today, the next set of required samples was sent to the lab for testing,” it said. “We should receive results back by close of business on Friday, November 13.”
Then the sentence Mancos has been working toward for a week: “If the results are accepted as compliant by CDPHE, we will begin discussions to lift the boil advisory.”
Nothing changes yet
The town was plain that the advisory is still on.
“The boil water advisory remains in place until further notice,” the notice said. “Please continue to follow all boil water precautions, even as conditions improve. The advisory cannot be lifted until the required testing and safety measures are completed and we receive approval from the CDPHE.”
So for now: boil tap water for a full minute, or use bottled water, before drinking it, cooking with it, making ice, brushing teeth or preparing food.
Note what the town did not say. It did not say the samples have passed. It did not say the advisory will come off on Friday, or on any date. Lab results can come back short, and the state has to sign off in writing before anything changes. “Discussions to lift the boil advisory” is a conversation that has not happened yet.
The questions from Tuesday’s meeting
The town also said it is “preparing an informational notice addressing questions raised during the November 10 public meeting” — the community meeting it called on the water emergency. The town has not said when that notice will be published.
That meeting was recorded and, the town said beforehand, was to be posted to a Town of Mancos YouTube channel. The Current does not yet treat that channel as a source and has not reported from it.
Mancos Rural Water: two more breaks
The boil order on the rural system is separate, and it is not close to coming off.
Mancos Rural Water, which serves customers outside town, posted an update at 4:44 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11 — newer than the one in the Current’s story on Wednesday morning. Its crew had located another mainline break on the northeast side of the system, it said, and one of its river-crossing mainlines “has blown out.”
“This additional break is expected to impact many customers throughout the system,” the company said. “We do not know at this time when service will be fully restored.”
Customers with low pressure or no water “are likely in one of the affected areas,” it said, and discolored or brown water is “not unexpected” while the system is repressurized after multiple breaks.
“The boil water order remains in effect for the entire system until further notice,” the company said. Customers should keep boiling water for drinking, cooking, brushing teeth and food preparation.
The company asked anyone not receiving its emergency alerts to call the office so it can update their contact details, and asked people who know an elderly or disabled neighbor who needs help getting water or cleaning up to contact Mancos Valley Resources.
Where to get water
A water station at Mancos Brewing Company has potable drinking water and raw water, both the town’s rural neighbor and the volunteers running the response say.
The Cookout and Mancos United, the two groups coordinating the flood response, sent the town an update on Thursday that the town passed on. The groups said they were short of bottled water, gallon jugs, food-grade water storage containers and disposable dishes, and asked people collecting water to bring reusable containers and to return buckets for refilling. They said they also have pots for boiling, baby food, diapers and wipes, food, hygiene products, home goods and clothes for anyone who needs them, and that Mancos High School students were hauling resources that day.
Anyone who needs help, or who wants to volunteer, can reach the groups at thecookoutswco@pm.me or hellomancosunited@gmail.com. Cash and checks made out to The Cookout can be left at Mancos Brewing Company. The town said it appreciated “both organizations for sharing these resources and their continued support of our community.”
Cortez is also letting Mancos residents shower free at the Cortez Recreation Center with proof of a Mancos address, at the town’s request.
The weather, as the town has it
Separately, the town passed on a National Weather Service briefing on Thursday afternoon — a change from the warning it gave on Tuesday, when it told residents to expect possible rain from Thursday through Sunday.
The briefing, issued by the weather service’s Grand Junction office at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11 and shared by the town at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, says unseasonably warm and dry conditions are expected through Friday, November 13, with temperatures roughly 5 to 10 degrees above normal. A system is expected to move in on Saturday, November 14, bringing the potential for valley rain and mountain snow above 8,000 to 9,000 feet. More precipitation may arrive on the evening of Tuesday, November 17, or on Wednesday, November 18, though the weather service says its confidence in next week’s precipitation is very low.
The weather service had no watch, warning or advisory in effect for Montezuma County, the valley or the San Juan Mountains on Thursday evening.
Sources: Town of Mancos, “Public Service Announcement - Water Emergency Update - 2:00 pm,” “The Cookout & Mancos United - Community Update” and “Public Service Announcement - Weather Outlook,” all posted on mancoscolorado.com on November 12, 2026; Mancos Rural Water, “Water Service Update 11/11/2026, 4:44 pm” (mancosruralwater.com); National Weather Service active alerts for zones COZ021, COC083 and COZ019, read November 12, 2026
Update, November 13, 2026: As of Friday morning the Town of Mancos had published no new notice and no laboratory results, and no all-clear had been issued. The boil-water advisory remains in force for Town of Mancos customers and the separate Mancos Rural Water system’s own boil order remains in force; both end only when the state approves lifting them in writing.
Update, November 13, 2026: The Town of Mancos lifted its boil water advisory at 2:45 p.m. on Friday, November 13, saying the state health department had authorized it after water quality testing was completed. The separate Mancos Rural Water system remains under its own boil order. Read the follow-up: Mancos lifts its boil water advisory.