EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — A proposed Department of Homeland Security detention facility in Socorro could place a major new strain on the El Paso region’s water supply, according to State Rep. Vince Perez.

Perez said his office’s research estimates the facility could require about 850,000 gallons of water per day.

Perez said the estimate is based on conservative industry planning standards for detention facilities in the Southwest.

Perez said actual water use could vary depending on the facility’s design, occupancy and operating standards, but warned that even the lower-end estimate is significant enough to require serious attention and review.

“This facility presents a serious and largely unexamined demand on a water supply that families in our region have depended on and struggled to protect through more than two decades of drought,” Perez said. “Our office’s research shows that even a conservative estimate puts this project at 850,000 gallons per day.”

Perez said the Lower Valley Water District would likely serve the proposed facility, but the district does not have its own water source and relies entirely on El Paso Water through a wholesale agreement that has been in place for 26 years.

That agreement guarantees the district a maximum of 6 million gallons per day, and Perez said the proposed facility alone could use roughly 14 percent of that daily allotment based on current estimates.

Perez also compared the projected water demand to the incoming Meta Datacenter planned for Northeast El Paso.

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“To put that in perspective, that is more than twice the estimated average daily water use of the Meta Datacenter coming to Northeast El Paso,” Perez said. “That should immediately raise concerns for every resident and every water manager in this region.”

Perez raised concerns about the lack of a formal environmental review, saying the Trump administration has shown “a clear pattern of bypassing the environmental review process to fast-track detention facilities.”

Perez pointed to a lawsuit filed by Maryland earlier in 2026 against DHS over the issue.

“What makes this even more alarming is that we may never know the true demand this facility will place on our water supply until it’s too late,” Perez said. “Without a full environmental and operational review here, our community could be left to discover the real burden on our water resources only after this facility is already up and running.”

Perez said agencies involved in the proposal have an obligation to evaluate it with public accountability.

Perez also said his concerns about water demand are separate from questions he raised in February about whether the site has adequate water pressure to meet fire suppression requirements, which he said remains unresolved.

“And I want to be clear: this is separate from the concerns I raised last month about whether this site even has adequate water pressure to meet fire suppression requirements. That issue remains unresolved,” Perez said. “We are now talking about two distinct water-related issues in a community that cannot afford to have its water future put at risk by a brazen federal government that disregards its own laws.”

The El Paso Public Service Board, which governs El Paso Water, is set to discuss the existing wholesale water agreement with the Lower Valley Water District at its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday.

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