Rio Bosque Has Water!

From John Sproul:

Just before 9 a.m. this morning, staff at the Roberto Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant switched the discharge of the plant’s effluent from the Riverside Canal to the Riverside Drain.  By 10 a.m., when my Introductory Tour group reached the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park inlet, water was just beginning to enter the park.  By 12:30 p.m., the water had advanced ~400 meters in the old river channel within the park, negotiating its way through piles of tumbleweeds deposited by yesterday’s windstorm. 

This is the first delivery of effluent to the park in 287 days. 

All of the Bustamante effluent is currently going to the Riverside Drain, and we are diverting as much as possible to the park.  A lot of the water is going to soak in initially, but some should start reaching the park’s wetland cells soon. 

Other Rio Bosque water news:

• On Tuesday 13 November, the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission is scheduled to begin construction of the short diversion channel needed to deliver water from the planned turnout on the Riverside Canal to the old river channel in the park.  Once the diversion channel is complete, El Paso County Water Improvement District #1 will install the turnout. 

• On Wednesday 14 November, the City of El Paso’s Public Service Board will meet, starting at 9 a.m.  Item 9 on its agenda (attached) is:

9. Consider and adopt a Joint Resolution between the City of El Paso and the El Paso Water Utilities – Public

Service Board concerning the transfer of the Rio Bosque Park from the City to the management and control of

the Public Service Board and the assignment of the License Agreement between the City and the University of

Texas at El Paso to the Public Service Board.

If adopted by both the PSB and the City Council, the joint resolution (attached) would place Rio Bosque in the PSB’s land inventory.  El Paso Water Utilities could then deliver some water from the Bustamante Plant to the park year-round as part of EPWU operations and without cost to UTEP.  The management direction for the park would not change.  Rio Bosque would continue to be a public park, and UTEP would continue to be the site manager. 

John Sproul

Manager, Rio Bosque Wetlands Park

Center for Environmental Resource Management

University of Texas at El Paso

500 West University Ave.

El Paso, TX  79968-0684

915-747-8663 office

915-861-4361 cell

jsproul@utep.edu

www.riobosque.org