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River water season has officially dried up for the year, kicking off the beginning of maintenance at El Paso Water’s two river water treatment plants.

For decades, employees have been sharing ghost stories of the multiple sightings reported at the Robertson/Umbenhauer Plant – dubbed the Canal Plant by locals.

El Paso Water joined forces with media partner KTSM to make “Imagine A Day Without Water” more of a reality. For the fifth year in a row, water providers across the nation raised awareness about the value of water and the needed investment in water infrastructure.

EPWater employees organized various fundraising events after hours or on weekends, and raised $61,000 for Law N’ Paws. They presented a check to the rescue at the October Public Service Board meeting.

When the project to construct the Silver Springs Arroyo Dam was completed in early October, a unique phase two to develop a site vegetation restoration plan began.

At the September Public Service Board meeting, EPWater detailed its latest innovation to provide load-shifting capability that enables certain wastewater streams to shift from one treatment plant to another.

White, an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture, will host the Fall WaterSmart Landscape Series on Sept. 21 and Sept. 28 at El Paso Water’s TecH2O Learning Center, 10751 Montana Ave. The sessions, both from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., are free and open to the public.

Superintendent Ruben Montes couldn’t wait to introduce the Robertson/Umbenhauer Water Treatment Plant to visitors who were there to tour and learn more about how the plant produces clean drinking water from Rio Grande water.

As one of the TecH2O center’s signature events, the popular Science Fair Blast Off offers students a one-stop-shop for ideas on science fair projects and an opportunity to learn about El Paso’s regional water resources and conservation.

El Paso Water is one step closer to building the Advanced Water Purification Facility (AWPF) after the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation awarded the utility a $3.5 million grant through the congressionally-authorized Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects.

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.

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.

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.

Are you excited about water? El Paso Water is hosting a 2019 Water Festival and the only question you need to ask yourself is, “What do I want to experience first?” With so many activities scheduled, EPWater's Water Festival is generating quite the buzz online and staff are expecting a record turn-out. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 27 at the TecH2O Learning Center.

As the city waits to receive its shortened river supply in June, El Paso Water is closing in on a May 1 deadline to prime eight new wells for pumping fresh water into the distribution system. Visitors to a well-equipping event were privy to the behind-the-scenes action taken to prepare Well 42A, one of the eight wells included in EPWater's Drought Resolution Program.

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.

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.

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.

El Paso Water’s Kyle Eckert and Luis Velasquez have heard all about the giant ball of grease – weighing 130 tons – that recently threatened to flood London’s streets with wastewater. The pretreatment inspectors for Environmental Compliance and Industrial Pretreatment want you to know that EPWater is working toward a cleaner city one drain at a time.

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.

For more than 30 years, EPWater has been transforming wastewater into fresh drinking water at the Fred Hervey Water Reclamation Plant, then using it to recharge the aquifer. Guests received an up-close look at the recharge process.

The award winning “Pure Water” advanced water purification trailer, developed by a team from Arizona, will make a one-day stop at TecH2O on Sept. 15 during the free Science Saturday event.

El Paso Water is urging local residents to proactively prepare for anticipated flood risks this summer by utilizing EPWater’s expanding free sandbag sites and hours.

El Paso homeowner Sarah Guemez experienced first-hand how important it can be to identify a leak.