Reverse osmosis · Corrales
Drinking water you can account for, from a well you're responsible for
When a Corrales family asks us what to do about nitrate, the honest answer starts with a lab test and usually ends at the kitchen sink.
Septic, wells and the nitrate question
Corrales has no village water system and, outside a limited STEP sewer along Corrales Road, most homes use septic. Put those together on a rural lot and you have the reason a state groundwater study looked at nitrate here. It found nitrate in some Corrales wells, linked to septic systems, at levels below the health standard in that study.
"Below the standard in a study" doesn't tell you about your well today. Nitrate is invisible and tasteless, and private wells aren't regulated like public systems, so a lab test is the only way to know. Arsenic, which occurs naturally in groundwater in parts of the Middle Rio Grande region, is worth including in the same test.
If either one needs reducing, reverse osmosis is the standard point-of-use approach. A softener won't do it and neither will carbon. RO forces water through a membrane that holds back dissolved solids, and it's the usual way to reduce nitrate, arsenic, fluoride and lead in the water you drink and cook with.
Under-sink RO system
$895 installed
600 GPD tankless reverse osmosis with an alkaline stage, mounted under your kitchen sink with its own faucet.
Also part of the Complete Home System at $4,599, with a softener and carbon for the whole house. Financing from $59/mo.
Start With a Free TestFrom test to tap in Corrales
We don't sell RO as a nitrate fix until the numbers say it's needed and that it will work on your water.
- 1
On-site test
About 15 minutes at your sink: hardness, TDS, pH, chlorine, iron and manganese, and sulfur, with a printed report in plain English.
- 2
Lab testing
We help you arrange a lab test for nitrate, arsenic and bacteria, the things an on-site kit can't measure reliably.
- 3
Fit and install
If RO is the right answer, our own installer fits it under the sink. If bacteria shows up, we'll refer you for disinfection first.
What installation involves in a Corrales kitchen
- The RO unit sits under the kitchen sink and connects to the cold line, with a dedicated drinking water faucet on the counter.
- Being tankless, it doesn't need room for a storage tank in the cabinet.
- If you also have a softener, the RO is fed from the softened line downstream of the pressure tank, which is easier on the membrane.
- It needs a drain connection under the sink and an outlet nearby.
- It fits within our usual half-day install visit, done by our own installer.
Want the bigger picture? Our reverse osmosis page covers how the stages work, the packages page shows how RO fits with whole-home treatment, and our Corrales page covers well ownership in the village more broadly.
Corrales RO questions
Will reverse osmosis remove nitrate from my Corrales well water?
RO is the standard point-of-use method for reducing nitrate in drinking water. How well it performs depends on your levels and your water chemistry, so we confirm with testing before and after installation.
Should I treat the whole house for nitrate instead?
For most homes, treating the water you drink and cook with is the practical approach, and RO at the kitchen sink does that. Whole-home softeners and carbon filters don't remove nitrate.
Does RO make my well water safe if it has bacteria?
Don't rely on it for that. Bacteria in a well call for disinfection. We'll help you get a lab test and refer you for that work before recommending drinking water equipment.
How often should a Corrales well be retested once RO is in?
Keep testing the well itself on a regular schedule, often yearly for bacteria and nitrate. Conditions around a well can change, and the results tell you whether your RO is still matched to your water.
Find out exactly what's in your water — free.
A 15-minute on-site test with results in real time, a plain-English report, and an honest recommendation. No pressure, no obligation.