MORA — The bottled water at the Las Vegas Walmart is a better deal than the water in town.

The superstore is 36 miles away from Helen and Julian Olivas' home in Holman, a couple miles north of Mora. Earlier this year, their private well was one of several in the county that tested positive for elevated levels of certain heavy metals. Since then, they've been relying on bottled water.

"El salud es el tesoro," Julian Olivas said — health is the treasure.

Water too, is a treasure to Olivas, who has Sjögren's disease, which makes his body unable to produce enough saliva or tears, so he drinks large quantities of water every day.

"I've been drinking this water like crazy," he said, lifting up a bottle. "... We're going to feel it."

Water monitoring in Mora County, which began in 2023, sho

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