The historic decades-old canal that marks the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso is undergoing a facelift.
The American Canal Lower Reach Replacement Project sits beside the historic Fort Bliss barracks and across the river from the Monument to the New Citizen, colloquially known as the Monument to the Cigarette, in Juárez.
The nearly 90-year-old canal was showing signs of erosion, necessitating repairs. The project aims to improve the structural integrity of the aging canal, reduce water loss through seepage, and improve the canal’s long-term reliability, Frank Fisher, the chief Public Affairs officer for the U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, said.
Fisher explained the project is “a key flood control and irrigation conveyance system along the U.S. – Mexico border in El Paso.”
The construction has been underway since September 2024.
Crews are working on the second phase of the project alongside the border wall, with construction canes hanging overhead. The third phase is scheduled to begin in October 2026.
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The canal plays a critical role in distributing water from the Rio Grande to farmers along the border.
Construction on the $90 million project began over a year after the contract was signed. Fisher explained that this was due to constraints created by the irrigation season.
Construction has advanced on schedule, Fisher said. The project is projected to be finished by June 2027.
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Built to allow water to flow through El Paso
The area where the construction is is steeped in history.
It sits near the location where the Spanish conquistador and explorer Juan de Oñate crossed the Rio Grande in 1598. The original construction of the canal included parts of Fort Bliss Army Post.
Today, the bachelor’s officers’ quarters continue to stand over the canal next to the site of the current construction.
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The American Canal in February 1938
The canal was put into service in 1938. It runs for 0.59 miles from Piasano Drive past International Dam to the headgates of the Rio Grande American Canal Extension.
The canal was the result of a 1906 treaty between the governments of Mexico and the United States that managed the distribution of the waters of the Rio Grande. The agreement sought to create “an equitable distribution of the waters of the Rio Grande.”
Another treaty between the two neighbors was signed in 1944, regulating the release of water from the Rio Grande, Colorado, and Tijuana rivers, granting U.S. farmers a certain amount of water over 5 years. The Trump administration threatened tariffs on Mexico in 2025 over water-related issues, stating that Mexico had not met its quota.
The Borderland and the Rio Grande have increasingly been affected by climate change.
Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@usatodayco.com; @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @palabrasdeabajo.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso’s American Canal along US-Mexico border gets $90M renovation