EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The Borderland’s river water supply coming from a dam in Elephant Butte is expected to contain close to 20 billion gallons of water, which is nearly half of El Paso Water’s annual water supply, reaching a threshold not seen in about 14 years, according to EP Water.
El Paso’s river water comes from melted snowpack from Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico during wintertime that is stored in a water dam in Elephant Butte.
The water was released on Friday, March 8 from the Caballo Dam located just south of Elephant Butte, and arrived in the Borderland Sunday evening, according to EP Water.
EP Water explained that this was a significant development, as river water is usually released closer to summer.
“We’re happy, we’re excited that it’s here early. We’re going to take full advantage of it with our water treatment plants,” said water resources manager for EP Water, Scott Reinert.
According to EP Water, they’re expecting about 30 weeks of river water this season, which will amount to nearly 20 billion gallons of water, making up nearly half of their annual water supply.
“The benefits of that means that we can relax some of the pumping on our wells. When we’re in a drought situation, we have less river water available, and we have to pump our wells more and more. We have the well capacity to do that, but when the river’s available, we want to take full advantage of it,” said Reinert.
Reinert explained that they are welcoming this change as El Paso has had severe droughts in the last few years. Aside from having a good river water supply in 2017, it had not reached these levels since 2009.
The promising “River Water Season,” however, is also a cause for caution.
The El Paso Fire Department (EPFD) issued a safety advisory on Wednesday regarding the dangers of the Rio Grande and the canals.
A spokesperson with the EPFD said that their Water Rescue team performed 149 rescues the last fiscal year, and that 20 people died.
Despite the yearly warnings, lives continue to be lost in the Borderland’s waterways.
“Unfortunately, we usually have anywhere from 15 to 20 people dying every year here in the water. And that’s why we’re asking you to stay away, because even though that water rescue team responds right away, a lot of the times by the time somebody reports somebody, it’s already just a body. The person is not there anymore, the person has passed away,” said EPFD spokesperson, Enrique Duenas.
Duenas warned people to never “underestimate” the water, as its depth and strength can always be deceiving.
EPFD’s five safety guidelines are as follows:
Avoid any activities near canals.
Respect all warning signs and barriers along the canals.
Contact 911 immediately if you find someone in distress, but do not attempt the rescue yourself.
Report any hazards near the canals
Help raise awareness with your community about the dangers of the canals.
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