Fresh into her role as chairperson of the Public Service Board, which oversees El Paso Water, Anna Gitter is at the center of one of the region\u2019s most pressing challenges: ensuring water remains accessible and affordable during a historic drought.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunity engagement has increased. This past year, we\u2019ve had a lot of events. I\u2019m looking forward to hoping that we all can take a little bit of a deep breath, especially the staff here,\u201d Gitter said, with a hint of irony in her voice, suggesting she\u2019s prepared for the opposite.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a relatively new El Pasoan, Gitter, 34, arrived four years ago from Central Texas, joining the local branch of the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health as an assistant professor. She applied for an available position on the PSB and was appointed by El Paso City Council in February 2024.<\/p>\n
Gitter is a water expert with a master\u2019s degree and doctorate in water management and hydrological science, both from Texas A&M University. Her research has focused on two areas especially relevant to her role on the board \u2013 using environmental data to inform public health decisions and strengthening community engagement.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething, as a board member, that I\u2019ve been working hard on with the staff here at El Paso Water, which they\u2019ve been very receptive to, is really increasing our work in the community and our communication,\u201d she said, sitting at the long PSB boardroom dais at El Paso Water\u2019s Eastside headquarters.<\/p>\n
Confident that the infrastructure built by El Paso Water will provide long-term, reliable service for the area, she said she\u2019s looking forward to sharing the challenges and progress facing the PSB and El Paso Water with the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs board members and staff here at El Paso Water, we\u2019re members of the community too,\u201d Gitter said. \u201cWe\u2019re all customers of this water system, and so we care just as much.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a conversation with El Paso Inc., she spoke at length on a range of topics, including her early interest in water issues, the unique relationship Texans have with water and the new technologies being employed to make sure El Paso never runs dry.<\/p>\n
Q: Your educational background is in water. What was it about water that you found interesting?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s my passion. I\u2019ve always had an interest in it, even as a small kid. I grew up in Central Texas and Austin, and I visited every natural spring in Central Texas one summer. It has just been something I\u2019ve had interest in \u2013 how precious it is and the unique relationship that Texans have with water. That stuck with me throughout my entire education. And now it\u2019s my passion, and my job.<\/p>\n
Q: It\u2019s fascinating how something can really catch a young person\u2019s interest. Can you recall exactly what it was about water that drew you in?<\/p>\n
It is what makes the world move. Water connects everything that we do, whether it\u2019s the economy or public health. Cities thrive on it. Water affects everything.<\/p>\n
The Central Texas area is special in having all those natural springs. There aren\u2019t many places like that in our world. Having the opportunity to swim in water that is 50 degrees, and you see 40 feet to the bottom, it makes you realize how lucky we are to have that.<\/p>\n
We are fortunate in Texas, where we recognize how important water is.<\/p>\n
Q: What do you find unique about the relationship people in the state have with water?<\/p>\n
What we have here, and El Paso Water is an example of it, is that Texans are innovative with how we handle water. We\u2019ve really pushed the envelope. Other communities across the country haven\u2019t quite taken that approach.<\/p>\n
This is what excites me about being in El Paso with our water portfolio. There are some communities that rely on just one source of water, only groundwater, or maybe it\u2019s only river water, which can be very variable. Here, we\u2019ve had the opportunity to be innovative, where we have multiple sources of water.<\/p>\n
Q: In your conversations with people around the state and around the country, have you found that El Paso has a reputation for being at the forefront of water innovation?<\/p>\n
Yes, 100 percent. We are one of, if not the, leaders in how we manage water. We are obviously in a desert, and we are under drought conditions, but we have the resources, and the technology, and the infrastructure in place where we don\u2019t need to worry about providing enough drinking water for our community right now.<\/p>\n
There are other areas, like Corpus Christi, where they\u2019re in a very different situation. But we aren\u2019t in that position right now because of our innovation. We\u2019ve been doing water reuse for 40-plus years, if not more.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve got the Pure Water Center under development, we have an inland desalination plant, and there are other communities that aren\u2019t even discussing that yet.<\/p>\n
Q: How did El Paso get this reputation? What\u2019s driving that?<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve just always been out-of-the-box thinkers. When you live in a desert, you have to be creative. Being in this kind of environmental situation, that\u2019s what has spurred this.<\/p>\n
From what I see in my work in this field, everyone knows El Paso Water. I\u2019ve done quite a bit of work in Austin and other communities, and at the national level, and when you mention El Paso Water, people are like, \u201cOh, yeah.\u201d\u00a0 There\u2019s tremendous respect for the work that we do, and how we are setting the bar, and how we are thinking about the future.<\/p>\n
Q: Some people have concerns about the management of water in the region. What are the things you would want more people to know about the PSB and El Paso Water?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to remember that, at least in the context of the PSB, we\u2019re volunteers. I really want to drive that home. We are doing our service here because we are passionate about our community, and we\u2019re passionate about water. That\u2019s the only reason why. I think sometimes that is forgotten.<\/p>\n
We all have lives outside the PSB. We all work full-time jobs, but we want to find a way to serve, and this is it.<\/p>\n
With El Paso Water, as a utility, some of the challenges that they have faced, at least in recent months, are not anything that\u2019s new to any utility. When we talk about infrastructure, and aging infrastructure, that is a challenge that every single utility in this country is facing.<\/p>\n
If anything, we are addressing them in probably a much more proactive manner.<\/p>\n
Q: How did that happen? Was there a particular person, coalition of people, or how did that foresight materialize?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the creation of the PSB in 1952, that is what really set it apart. At that time, we were in record drought conditions. There are pictures of parts of Texas; they were just dried up. It was really horrific.<\/p>\n
To have the foresight that we eed to be strategic in how we manage our water, and that we need representatives from our community to bring diverse experience and expertise, that is where it got started.<\/p>\n
After that, under the leadership of El Paso Water\u2019s CEOs and really brilliant staff, we were able to bring in this amazing technical expertise. The PSB was able to bring out some of these projects that really pushed the envelope and got us to where we are today.<\/p>\n
Q: There is a lot of discussion about the potential environmental impact of the Meta data center under construction in Northeast El Paso. The PSB maintains that there is enough water to sustain that. What would you say to people who still have concerns about that?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Anna Gitter, chair, Public Service Board<\/p>\n
Ruben R. Ramirez<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to note that a peak summer day will have up to 160 million gallons of water that\u2019s being treated, and when we look at the usage from this data center, it is truly a very small fraction of that. I know that the technical staff here has done the work to make sure there is more than enough capacity and supply for it.<\/p>\n
What I would also like to emphasize is that the utility, and the PSB, we are obligated by state law to provide water in our service area. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about that. We have to. No matter what kind of user it is, that\u2019s just something that we have to do.<\/p>\n
I know that the utility did make sure that it would be feasible before anything was able to move forward.<\/p>\n
Q: How do you feel about the community getting more outspoken about their water concerns?<\/p>\n
I understand the concern, and I recognize and I truly appreciate the community expressing their opinions and coming to our meetings. It\u2019s been great to have community input. For a while, we didn\u2019t have people from the community speaking, so it\u2019s been great to have that.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Q: Considering the lifelong interest you\u2019ve had in water, and now being part of this effort to educate a community becoming increasingly interested in water, how meaningful has that been for you?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s fantastic. It\u2019s great that we have a community watching the news and seeing what\u2019s happening because that\u2019s what we need to succeed, and I hope it continues.<\/p>\n
The people of El Paso love where they live and are passionate and care about it.<\/p>\n
Q: You\u2019ve mentioned the Pure Water Center and its importance for El Paso\u2019s water. What is it?<\/p>\n
It is phenomenal what we\u2019re going to have. It\u2019s going to be essentially one of the nation\u2019s first direct-to-distribution potable reuse systems. So to have something like that, and of that scale, in our community to meet the needs for the future, there\u2019s really nothing else like it.<\/p>\n
Q: When people think of wastewater being treated at the Pure Water Center, and then that they are going to be drinking it, what would you say to them to allay their fears about it coming from wastewater?<\/p>\n
This is an extremely, highly treated water. It\u2019s probably going to taste better than some of the other water in our system just because it is purified to that standard.<\/p>\n
Think of the water cycle. All water is recycled. Every drop of water from the aquifer is recycled water. It has just been recycled on a larger time frame, like millions of years. With our cycle, we are expediting it, but it is the same thing.<\/p>\n
We have the tools available and the expertise and the technology to do this. It\u2019s happening at different scales in different parts of the country. We have the opportunity to have a full facility to do it at a much larger scale to meet water needs for the future.<\/p>\n
Q: How much of a game-changer is that for El Paso?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a game-changer in that it is extremely innovative. Historically, we could rely on river water as a very consistent and dependable water source. But as we\u2019ve seen in recent years, with variability in the snowpack and how much water we receive downstream, it\u2019s a great water source when we get it.<\/p>\n
But to help offset dependence on that, and to have another source of water in our water portfolio, this is what it provides. It is so much more strategic to have multiple sources of water that we can utilize to treat \u2013 to drinking water standards \u2013 and meet the community\u2019s needs, as opposed to solely relying just on groundwater or just one water source.<\/p>\n
Q: How much attention is this center receiving nationally?<\/p>\n
There are a lot of eyes on it, even on an international scale as well.<\/p>\n
Q: With the drought and Elephant Butte levels being at very low levels, are we running out of water?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s not a lack of water. There\u2019s a lack of cheap water.<\/p>\n
Q: What are the guiding principles for the goal of affordability for El Paso ratepayers?<\/p>\n
When it comes to water rates, front-of-mind is affordability.<\/p>\n
Historically, El Paso actually had very low water costs compared to other communities. Unfortunately, we\u2019re in a world where the cost of supplies and all these different factors are increasing rapidly. So to make sure that we have water for future generations of El Pasoans, we have to be strategic. We can\u2019t delay. If we wait to do some kind of expansion, it\u2019s going to be even more expensive. It\u2019s better to be proactive than reactive.<\/p>\n
When it comes to rates and affordability, it is important to be more incremental. I\u2019ve seen other communities where they say, \u201cOK, we\u2019re not going to increase rates,\u201d and they go five, 10 years, and then when they do have a rate increase, it is massive.<\/p>\n
Q: What do you think the future holds for El Paso Water and water in this community?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m really excited about some of these big projects that we have coming up in the future. I am extremely excited about the Pure Water Center, about that opening to the public in the next few years and what that\u2019s going to provide.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m also really excited to continue building on the momentum we have with community engagement. It\u2019s helpful discussing water. The attention that we have on water right now, even though it\u2019s from various perspectives, I think it\u2019s all good. People should care about water.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fresh into her role as chairperson of the Public Service Board, which oversees El Paso Water, Anna Gitter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324316,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[115945,470,138,140,139,5768,29923,8048],"class_list":["post-324315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-anna-gitter","tag-drought","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news","tag-el-paso-water","tag-public-service-board","tag-water-management"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}