Companies selling home filtration systems may allege that El Paso tap water is unsafe to drink. But El Pasoans have every reason to be confident in their tap water quality.

When the Rio Grande stopped flowing last fall, employees of the Jonathan Rogers Water Treatment Plant took advantage to do some major work to the four Archimedes screw pumps at the facility.

Since Property Control began selling old utility property 3½ years ago, the public auctions have brought in over $100,000 in additional operational funds for the utility.

EPWater invests money in state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, tests water continuously through all phases of treatment and distribution to the customer, and ensures employees receive training in the leading water quality practices and technologies.

An array of flora and fauna welcome up to 5,000 visitors annually to the TecH2O Learning Center’s wildlife habitat, where desert cottontail, bobcats and rattlesnakes roam freely. Oh, my!

For decades, El Paso Water has been using Granular Activated Carbon to remove substances that generate color and smell in untreated river water. But how do you measure which products do the best job? After all, smell and sight are subjective. Does the nose know best?

The new program administered by Amistad helps El Paso Water customers who are low-income seniors with emergency financial assistance and conservation support. So far, more than 100 El Paso Water customers have been helped and hundreds of water-efficient showerheads have been distributed.

In 2018, 91 children drowned in Texas – children ranging in age from 7 months to 17 years. The El Paso Fire Department, El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1, National Weather Service and Drowning Prevention Coalition of El Paso joined EPWater to spread the urgent message that intense rains can quickly turn treacherous.

EPWater developed an agreement to provide the City of El Paso with a $25,000 grant to assist them in adjusting, repairing or replacing inefficient plumbing fixtures identified in the audit.

EPWater crews work on El Paso’s stormwater system year-round. So when storm events occur, they are available to respond quickly to public requests to pump water and remove debris. The illegally-dumped trash not only slows down the process, but it also hurts the system.

Teeming with the benefits of a winter and spring’s bumper snowpack, El Paso Water is finally welcoming the Rio Grande. At long last, water released from Caballo Reservoir on May 31 is flowing into EPWater’s two river water facilities, said Water Supply Manager Ruben Rodriguez. Although EPWater is expecting half of its normal river water allocation.

Over the past three decades, El Paso Water has partnered with industrial businesses to reduce the amount of pollutants released into the wastewater system. Setting standards for what enters the system helps the utility control the treatment process and guarantees that water released to the Rio Grande will positively contribute to the natural ecosystem.

At a May 15 news conference held at the El Paso Zoo, Assistant County Attorney Cristina Viesca-Santos said her office takes environmental crimes seriously. In 2018, they prosecuted six cases regarding illegal dumping and they are on pace to double that this year with five prosecuted so far.

As the nation celebrates Infrastructure Week, the Kay Bailey Hutchison (KBH) Desalination Plant is operating with recently replaced reverse osmosis membranes, a water infrastructure investment that protects water quality. By properly running and maintaining the facility, the original membranes lasted an impressive 12 years and processed over 21 billion gallons of water.

“This is quite an honor for the zoo to be recognized as a Conservation Hero,” Wilson said. “We do our best to inspire people to adopt ways to preserve our natural resources. The zoo took the right steps by installing low-flow toilets, metered sinks and using reclaimed water for irrigation.”