EPWater President and CEO John Balliew said the Advanced Water Purification Facility will be the next iteration in the utility's water reuse system.
From El Paso Water.
El Paso Water is on a firm path to building a more modern and sustainable community for El Paso.
The recent awarding of $20 million in funding from the Department of Interior-Bureau of Reclamation for our planned Advanced Water Purification Plant shows EPWater is leading the way in water reuse
What makes the facility special
When the Advanced Water Purification Facility goes online, this innovative facility will be the first of its kind in the country. Expected to produce up to 10 million gallons a day, the facility will transform treated wastewater from the nearby Roberto Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant into fresh drinking water. Once treated, purified water will be routed directly into the drinking water distribution system.
We have been spearheading water reuse projects for decades to expand our water supply.
EPWater’s reuse journey kicked off in the 1960s when we began supplying Ascarate Park Golf Course with reclaimed water for irrigation. Two decades later, we were among the first in the nation when the Fred Hervey Water Reclamation Plant began treating wastewater to drinking water standards and recharging the Hueco Bolson aquifer. Since 1985, the plant has returned more than 30 billion gallons of fresh water to the aquifer.
Taking advantage of an existing water source to diversify our water resources portfolio makes good sense, especially when your growing city is in the Chihuahuan Desert.
It’s a reliable drought-proof supply to tap into – as the population increases, we will have more treated wastewater to purify. Furthermore, every gallon of reclaimed water used is one less gallon of water pumped from the Hueco Bolson aquifer or diverted from the Rio Grande.
Increased water usage during the pandemic, along with a continuing river drought, has impacted our water production levels. Pre-COVID-19, EPWater produced a total of 38 billion gallons a year. During the pandemic, production surged to 40 billion gallons a year, where it has remained. The growing population and water production levels underscore the need for additional supply.