El Paso Water’s Advanced Water Purification Facility was awarded $20 million in federal funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for water reuse projects, the Bureau of Reclamation announced Thursday.
EPWater was the only Texas water utility to be among the selected recipients of a combined $309.8 million to improve drought resilience.
Industry leader
The Advanced Water Purification Facility will transform treated wastewater into fresh drinking water. The innovative facility will send purified drinking water straight into the water distribution system.
“We are grateful to the Bureau of Reclamation for recognizing the importance of this new water source to secure El Paso’s water future,” said Gilbert Trejo, Interim Chief Operations Officer. “This funding will help El Paso Water to catapult forward the construction of the Advanced Water Purification Facility early next year. The AWPF will use robust treatment processes to transform treated wastewater into fresh drinking water, another example of EPWater’s innovative water supply solutions.”
EPWater’s planning process spans 50 years into the future. Aside from an annual river water supply, the utility has built an innovative portfolio of water resources that includes desalination, water reuse and conservation. Because of years of investment and responsible management of water sources, EPWater is a renowned industry leader.
“This facility will be a game changer for El Paso and other arid communities across the globe facing drought challenges,” Trejo said. “We extend a special thanks to Mayor Leeser, County Judge Samaniego and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar for their active support of our grant application.”
Water reliability
Grant recipients range from California, Hawaii, Idaho, Utah and Washington. Funding will help water management agencies stretch existing water supplies and help ensure that growing water needs can be met through the advanced treatment of wastewater and naturally impaired surface and groundwater.
“Water is essential to everything we do, and it will take all of us, working together, to address the significant drought impacts we are seeing across the West,” Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said. “As the climate crisis drives severe drought conditions and historically low water allocations, President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is making historic investments to address water and drought challenges and invest in our nation’s western water and power infrastructure.”
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $8.3 billion for Bureau of Reclamation water infrastructure projects to repair aging water delivery systems, secure dams, complete rural water projects and protect aquatic ecosystems. The funding announced Thursday is part of the $1 billion in WaterSMART Water Recycling and Reuse grants provided.