EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – El Paso Water officials say there was never any danger to the community after concerns surfaced over rising water levels at Cement Lake, despite reports that construction crews had noticed elevated levels before the utility purchased the property.

El Paso Water President John Balliew said contractors informed the previous property owner about the rising water shortly before El Paso Water acquired the site in April. Balliew said the utility was aware of the elevated water levels before the purchase but did not see it as a cause for alarm.

“There was never any danger to the community,” Balliew said. “It was just the roadways.”

According to Balliew, officials believed the lake’s spillway system could handle the water levels.

“The problem with a pipe spillway is it’s subject to plugging if there’s trash or debris or floating sticks or whatever that come in over the top of the reservoir,” said Balliew. “We’ll put in a side channel and then we’ll restore the dam to its original condition and it should be fine.”

‘Significant progress’ made at Cement Lake; roads reopen

The utility purchased the property as part of the city’s open space preservation efforts. Balliew said Cement Lake had previously been identified in the city’s open space master plan as land worth protecting. Funding for the purchase was part of the Storm Water Utility when it it was created in 2008, allocating 10% of stormwater utility revenues toward open space projects.

Balliew addressed reporters questions about whether the dam had been inspected before the purchase. Balliew said no specific dam inspection was conducted, only standard environmental assessments typically done during real estate transactions.

“The dam had been there for more than 100 years with several different owners,” Balliew said. “At no point in time was there any indication that anything was wrong with the dam.”

EP Water monitoring potential dam breach risk at Cement Lake

El Paso Water said it plans to explore possible public access and recreational use of the property while preserving it as open space.

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