EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 The El Paso Public Service Board has directed El Paso Water staff to begin gathering updated water demand projections tied to a proposed federal detention facility in Socorro.<\/p>\n
The action comes after State Representative Vincent Perez and nearly 50 members of the Texas House sent a letter urging the board to review a decades-old water agreement between El Paso Water and the Lower Valley Water District.<\/p>\n
At issue: how much water the proposed facility could require \u2014 and whether the region\u2019s groundwater and ratepayers would be protected.<\/p>\n
According to lawmakers, the proposed Department of Homeland Security facility could house up to 8,500 people, potentially making it one of the largest of its kind in the country.<\/p>\n
Perez says even conservative industry estimates suggest the facility could require roughly 850,000 gallons of water per day.<\/p>\n
Julia Spencer reports on Detention center could draw 1M gallons a day, spurring El Paso water review (Credit: KFOX14)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Socorro residents question water capacity after DHS buys nearby warehouses for $122M<\/a><\/p>\n Higher-end projections could push that number above one million gallons daily.<\/p>\n Last fiscal year, the Perez says the Lower Valley Water District used approximately 6.4 million gallons of water per day. <\/p>\n Perez argues the detention facility alone could represent a double-digit percentage increase in daily demand from a single user.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re concerned about the long-term sustainability of the region\u2019s water supply,\u201d Perez said.<\/p>\n He’s asking the Public Service Board to review the 40-year-old wholesale water agreement between El Paso Water and Lower Valley Water District. <\/p>\n You can read the letters Perez sent to the members of the Public Service Board below:Perez points to provisions in the contract that prohibit depleting El Paso\u2019s groundwater resources and shielding city ratepayers from additional costs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe contract makes it clear \u2014 don\u2019t drain El Paso\u2019s groundwater, and don\u2019t pass the costs on to residents,\u201d Perez said.<\/p>\n The topic was discussed during the board\u2019s monthly meeting during executive session.<\/p>\n After the meeting, Gilbert Trejo, Vice President of Operations and Engineering for El Paso Water, said the board directed staff to formally begin requesting updated growth projections and technical data from the Lower Valley Water District.<\/p>\n \u201cSo really what the board directed staff to do was to interact with our customer, which is the Lower Valley Water District, in the normal course of business,\u201d Trejo said.<\/p>\n Trejo stated that El Paso Water serves as the wholesale water provider to Lower Valley Water District.<\/p>\n Trejo emphasized that before any conclusions can be made, engineers need detailed projections on current and future water demand.<\/p>\n \u201cDepending on what those numbers are \u2014 how does that affect us? Then we go through the engineering process as well. We will run our models,\u201d Trejo said.<\/p>\n He added that if additional infrastructure such as pipes, tanks, or wells were required specifically to serve Lower Valley Water District, those costs would be calculated and assigned accordingly to the district.<\/p>\n