07/25/2025

Holloman Air Force Base to close lake near base where PFAS chemicals found

KTSM | Dave Burge | July 15, 2025

Holloman Air Force Base to close lake near base where PFAS chemicals found

Holloman Air Force Base is temporarily closing public access to a lake that serves as the wastewater reservoir for the base.

Health advisory issued for anyone eating, capturing wildlife at Holloman Lake

The closure order takes effect on Aug. 14 and was put in place by Col. John Ethridge, the commander of the 49th Wing at Holloman.

The area is often called Holloman Lake by the public, but its official name is the Holloman Evaporation Pond.

The closure is being done to “protect the public from potential exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS),” Holloman said in its release.

This area receives processed wastewater from the wastewater treatment facility at Holloman and was not originally obtained by the Air Force for recreational use, the base said.

The area was transferred to the Air Force from the Department of the Interior in 1995 to construct a new wastewater treatment facility for the base, Holloman said.

The transfer required public access continue to the area, but that can be changed if there is risk to public health or safety, Holloman said.

After recent studies at the lake and new designations by the U.S. Environvironment Protection Agency about the class of chemicals known as PFAS, “the decision was made to temporarily close public access to mitigate the potential risks to human health posed by PFAS,” the base said.

The area that was found to contain PFAS chemcials in the soil and water was at least partly linked to chemicals used in firefighting operations and training programs on base, Holloman said.

“Holloman AFB has already taken steps to address PFAS in response to evolving science. Understanding that there was a presence of PFAS, Holloman AFB ended its hunting program in 2019 and signs prohibiting hunting were installed. In addition, all recreational activities involving the water in the HEP (Holloman Evaporative Pond) have also been prohibited,” Holloman said.

Drinking water sources at Holloman, Alamogordo and surrounding areas have not been affected by PFAS at the base or the lake, the base said.

Both the base and Alamogordo get their drinking water located between 12 and 35 miles southeast of the base and is in the opposite direction that water naturally flows from the area, the base said.

The wells continue to be tested and are PFAS free, the base said.

As KTSM previously reported, the New Mexico Department of Health has issued a health advisory to hunters or anyone who consumed or captured wildlife from 2010 to 2024 from the area around the lake.

This followed a new environmental report revealing record-breaking levels of contaminants of PFAS in plants and wildlife in the area, NMDOH said at the time.

NMDOH said that PFAS has been linked to serious health problems.

According to NMDOH, potential health risks associated with exposure to PFAS include:

• Increased cholesterol levels.
• Reduced birth weight.
• Kidney and testicular cancer.
• Pregnancy-induced hypertension.
• Liver enzyme changes.