An unusual visitor started making regular appearances at the construction site of the Thomas Manor Park Pond Improvement project a few months ago. As construction workers and engineers worked to deepen the pond and expand the stormwater infrastructure, they discovered an owl in the area.

“I think it’s very exciting for El Pasoans to know that what we’re doing here in El Paso is going to change the water industry,” Gilbert Trejo, Chief Technical Officer, said. “The water community knows and understands that these treatment processes treat the water and produce a very high-quality water."

On April 4, four El Paso Water employees will take their places as coach, setter, cranker and copper during the Texas section of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Pipe Tapping Competition in Houston.

Launched in 2017, El Paso Police Department Detective Vanessa Acosta established Law N Paws to rescue four-legged victims of animal cruelty. This year, El Paso Water’s Charity of Choice Committee chose to advocate for the voiceless and raise awareness about a small nonprofit that rescues and rehabilitates abused animals.

Expect El Paso Water’s Spring WaterSmart Landscape Series to get animated. In his more than 30 years of experience in forestry, Oscar Mestas – retired regional urban forester of Texas A&M Forest Service – has picked up a few tricks of the trade. Mestas’ sessions often involve student interaction, with some role-playing, performances and games.

Although Montana Vista has had water service for decades, residents have had to use septic tanks or resort to inadequate drainage systems. Through the efforts of Montana Vista residents like Martina Silva, along with the advocacy of local and state elected officials, El Paso Water has received funding assistance and will enable the utility to proceed with phase one of a wastewater project.

The Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE) El Paso Chapter recognized Public Service Board member Santiago as the 2019 El Paso Engineer of the Year at a Feb. 15 ceremony.

Twenty-one organizations, including the University of Texas at El Paso, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Fab Lab of El Paso, are collaborating with EPWater on the family engineering event. “By relating various engineer projects throughout El Paso, we hope that we are able to make that connection between the community and the importance of inspiring our youth in science and engineering,” said April Thoreson, Water Conservation Education Specialist.

As EPWater moves to address aging infrastructure across El Paso, the utility’s attention centered on replacing deteriorating lines in charge of providing water to the Downtown community. Complicating the project was the path of the water line, which required tunneling beneath 10 sets of railroad tracks, which had to remain in use. This meant the traditional open cut method or trenching could not be used.

Thanks to the Magnolia Stormwater Project and several other completed stormwater projects in the area, the flooding along I-10 in Central El Paso is a distant memory for drivers who grew accustomed to dealing with it after storms.

With multiple projects converging at EPWater’s oldest wastewater facility, the Haskell plant is buzzing like a beehive. Three projects were completed in 2018: digesters heating system upgrade, primary clarifier odor control as well as primary clarifier rehabilitation. Two projects are underway: digester No. 1 rehabilitation project and headworks effluent piping improvement.

“We have an amazing community of residents who are genuinely interested in our local environment and water resources,” said Norma Guzman-Kennedy, EPWater Conservation Specialist. “They are taking what they learned in the classroom and putting it to practical use in our own community.”

The Public Service Board (PSB) approved a $436.1 million El Paso Water budget today for water, wastewater and stormwater systems for the 2019-20 fiscal year. The PSB kept stormwater rates flat while approving an increase of 4 percent for water service and 8 percent for wastewater service.

EPWater gets new high-tech training thanks to a simulator that can safely train operators. Hundreds of employees will soon receive this state-of-the-art training.

CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta visited El Paso Water’s Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant and the Fred Hervey Reclamation Plant in recent weeks and reported on El Paso’s conservation and water reuse efforts. Those who watched the report or read the story learned about El Paso Water’s innovation and resilience in the face of drought, and they saw the important roles the Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant and the Fred Hervey Reclamation Plant perform. But the online story’s headline raised eyebrows: El Paso to drink treated sewage water due to climate change drought.

On Nov. 1, leaders from El Paso Water, Project Amistad and the City of El Paso announced a new customer assistance program called AguaCares. The program officially launches Jan. 2 and will focus on helping elderly, low-income customers who struggle to pay their water and wastewater bills.

Hearing about upcoming construction puts many on edge. That’s understandable. So why is repairing water lines a necessary inconvenience?