All across Texas, one of the most serious issues we all face is water.
Out east, a lack of water led to the closure of the last Texas sugar cane mill last year – there just wasn’t enough to support the industry. Some in southwest Texas worry that citrus could be the next big agricultural sector to fall due to dwindling water resources.
For a long time, though, El Paso has been doing more than just talking about the problem. The city has a long history of taking action and serving as a model, not just for Texas, but other arid regions around the world.
Scott Reinert, water resources manager for El Paso Water, spoke with Texas Standard about the innovative approaches the utility is taking to keep the water flowing as the region faces the growing challenges of drought and water scarcity. Listen to the interview above or read the transcript below.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: Let’s talk about the existing water challenges El Paso faces here in the desert southwest. What’s happening to traditional water sources like the Rio Grande? And how quickly is this becoming a crisis?
Scott Reinert: So when we talk about traditional water sources, I like to say the Rio Grande, and I’ll talk about that, and then also our groundwater supplies.
So let’s start off with the Rio Grande. The last 20 years, the Rio Grande has been in and out of drought each year. So it’s kind of like a box of chocolates. We don’t know what we’re gonna get.
Each year we wait for the snowpack in southern Colorado, we see how it flows down to Elephant Butte. Elephant Butte is two hours north of El Paso. The amount of water that we have in that reservoir determines how much water we’re gonna get each year.
And it’s a surprise to many people, probably East Texans, they don’t realize that the Rio Grande is a managed-flow river – so that we get water when they release it. If it’s good irrigation year, we get from March through October, like last year. This year, drought is here. So we’re expecting river water from June/June 3 to mid-August. So about 77 days of river water.
When that happens, we need to pump more and more of our groundwater resources, including our desalination plant. I’d like to say that it’s the largest desalinated inland plant in the world.
Other governments have come here to see what you’re doing, right?
Very much so. We’ve had, to my knowledge, people from Russia, Egypt, Israel, around the country… and it’s data-sharing.
Everybody is facing water challenges. There’s abundance of water in the universe, in the world, but it’s going to require more treatment. So let’s all learn together. Let’s collaborate. Let us learn from each other.
I believe San Antonio came here, looked at our desalination plant, and we gave them some good pointers on what they can do. They built their plant. Our plant is larger than their plant. But we helped them shape their vision for their needs on their desalination plant.
So you said El Paso has had to come up with some creative solutions that are being emulated across the state and country. When it comes to wastewater treatment, we have some big news about reuse.
Yeah, so we’re very proud to announce the Pure Water Center. We had a groundbreaking ceremony at the end of February after the end of probably 15 years of planning and pilot testing. We are breaking ground on a state-of-the-art water reuse facility.
It’s pure. It means that it’s water that had been treated for irrigation. Now it’s gonna go through five more levels of treatment. I gotta get these right: Membrane treatment, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet light, granular activated carbon, and chlorination.
And there’s a reason you’re being so particular. Some people have called this “toilet-to tap.” How do you get past that kind of “ick” factor?
So that’s the challenge. We call it “pure.” We talk about the quality of the water, not the history.
That’s a great way to put it.
And reclaimed water has been with us for decades. We’ve been irrigating with reclaimed water for decades. Now we’re taking the next logical step in using it to advance our water supply.
And I think this project here is just the tip of the iceberg. Communities throughout Texas are gonna begin doing it.
What about long-term outlook?
So long-term outlook is very important. We have a 50-year water plan.
The 50-year water plan talks about population, population growth, demands for the future, and then we look at our existing supplies… And when we need new supplies, we have to incorporate those coming into the future.
You optimistic?
Yes, I am. We have vast amounts of brackish groundwater right here for us to use. And we’re using the water resources, the renewed water. So, we’re very optimistic.
